The Defender
by TripleThreat123
Summary: The Guardians are called together once more. Why? To discuss a matter of someone to protect the beliefs of our childhood. Even the Guardians need a Defender. Bunny/OC, slight Tooth/OC... Read and Review.
1. Little ankel- biter

_**I saw ROTG… IT WAS AWESOME. Anywho, it`s amazing how many people are shipping themselves with Jack Frost! I, personally, think he stays single. But Bunnymund is all mine. MINE! (Hisssssss…) Ha. Ha. (Ahem.) Anyways. Here`s the story, Hope you enjoy!**_

_Bunnymund`s POV_

_**Eleven years ago. Australian Outback.**_

_I stood up, my back erect, and boldly looked over this land. __My __land. Australia._

_I felt a grin flit across my face as the blistering sun dropped its burden of weight and fall past the horizon. _

"_Boy, nothing like home." I glanced past Uluru, which was where I was currently standing. A new sound entered the still air. "Ah, the tour bus." I sighed. "Slightly later than usual. Oh, well."_

_People scurried around, snapping photos or chatting. Some artists, hoping for inspiration, bought along their sketchbooks. The usual. Yet… something was very wrong._

_A small child. Only reached my knee, but she appeared to be eight or nine. Puny little ankle biter, and I noticed a huge problem. She was unattended. No parents were around. No brothers or sisters. She didn`t appear to be with the class on a field trip. She had fiery red hair, but I caught streaks of chestnut woven naturally into it._

_An eleven year old bent down to her and whispered something tauntingly. The little one stuck out her lower lip, glared at him, and kicked him in the shin. Wow. Feisty little ankle biter._

_I listened to the old legend of how this place came to be, as the whisper of the wind carried it to me. I shortly disappeared into my Warren, painting eggs and sending them out to little kiddies all over the globe._

_The tour bus left about ten minutes later, just as I finished my last egg. I popped out of my hole and listed to the peace, the quiet, the sound of… a sob?_

_I suspiciously glanced around, and my gaze landed on the ankle biter from earlier. "Oi," I blinked. She was huddled up in a small ball._

"_Hey, ya little ankle biter." I knelt down. She looked up and sniffed. "You lost?"_

_She shook her head._

"_You sad?"_

_She bit down on her quivering lower lip._

"_You look scared."_

_Her hazel eyes threatened tears as she blinked quickly and nodded. The tear rolled down her cheek and splatted on the ground._

_I hate seeing kids cry. "Hey, hey, hey. No crying." I gently demanded. "Where`s your mum?"_

_She pointed to a stick right behind me. I blinked. "A stick?"_

_She nodded and held open her little hand. _Oh, _I thought. _She wants the stick.

_I stretched behind me and gripped it in my hands. I held it out to her. She snatched it away and scraped away at the dirt. I was soon looking at an etching of something that looked like orange peelings piled up. _

Huh._ I squinted at it. _Looks like the Sydney Opera house… OH! _I nearly face palmed myself. Dumb moment._

"_So, that`s where your mum is?" She nodded. "Where`s your dad?"_

_She scratched a cross. _

_I felt sympathy rise in my chest. "I`m sorry." _

_She stared down at the cross. Then she looked up at me. _

"_You want to get back to your mum?" I looked eye level with her. She smiled._

"_Alrighty, hop on." I picked her up and set her tenderly on my back. _

_I left her at the hotel, and she soon left both my memory and me._

_I never did know what happened to her._

_**Warren. Modern day. **_

I carefully patted my paintbrush over an egg. "There we are," I muttered to myself. "That one`s done, let`s hope Frostbite doesn`t ice out on us, eh?" I chuckled as I set the egg down.

Easter was swinging around quickly, and that was my last egg.

I was suddenly aware of something. I jumped out of the Warren and onto Uluru and noted the parade of green and purple lights in the sky, weaving like yarn through the atmosphere. Yep. This happened before. The Northern Lights. I stomped and headed for the North Pole.

_**Hope you enjoyed that, folks! Oh, I PROMISE, I`ll update my other stories tomorrow!**_

_**For now, Read and Review! I can`t continue the stories without suggestions and complements. OR ELSE I`LL DISSAPPEAR OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH! MWAHAHA-**_

… _**Just R and R. Please.**_


	2. Luck of the Irish

_**Some one left a review and asked if this story was somehow connected to my other ROTG story, "Heart of Hope". Yes, my dear friend, it`s connected… BIG TIME. This chapter will reveal everyth- well, not EVERYTHING. Just R and R. Time for the first "R"- READ!**_

_Heather`s POV_

_**Africa. 12 ½ years ago.**_

"_I wish you not a path of devoid clouds…" My father`s blank eyes stared at the ceiling, waiting for me to finish his words._

"_Nor a life on a bed of roses." I almost broke down then and there. I accepted a shaky breath and continued."Not that you might never regret…" I heaved a sob and my breath hitched. "Nor f-fee-feel p-pain…"_

_I allowed tears to flow, and collapsed my head on my father`s stomach. "I don` know the res`." I tightened my little puny fists into his blankets. "I can` remember… I wan` to," I choked. My father __was__ in pain. He __was__ regretting going hiking in the Savannah. He was dying._

_The bite had swollen instantly, poison taking effect on him. "Use your knowledge, little one." His Irish accent filled the air._

_I breathed in, harder. "N-no that is- isn` my wish for you…" I sobbed._

_The natives shooed me outside of the small hut, knowing what would come. Before I took my last look at my father, he heaved, "Know the blessing. Learn it. It will help guide you in all life. Do it for me." His last breath left and he quietly said, "May the Luck of the Irish be with us…"_

_**Australian outback. Year and ½ later.**_

_I sat in the hotel, fiddling with a green necklace. Mum had gone off to the Opera House with her friend, Mrs. Bennett. And, I was extremely bored. You know what an Irish 8 year old does when she gets bored?_

_She goes and finds something to do. But, there was literally nothing in the hotel to do, so I left the hotel._

_I found a tour bus that would take me to a popular place. I think, looking back at myself, I called it "Gurihiru". I couldn`t understand why it was so popular, it was just a rock. I was nearly trampled as we got off the bus. Artists had bought sketchbooks, colored pencils, and paints. I just stared at the rock._

_I suddenly remembered something my dad used to do with me. He`d take me out to a large rock or mountain, and then set me down at the foot of it. "Watch me, and don`t leave until I come." He would climb it, and I`d stand there, eyes wide with wonder, silently praying that the luck of the Irish would be up there, with him. _

_I was staring, slightly dazed, at the mountain, when an 11 year old bent down and whispered something to me. I couldn`t understand, he didn`t speak Irish, but by judging the look on his face, it wasn`t very nice. So, I reeled back and kicked him as hard as my little legs could in the shin. He doubled over in pain, and I felt a small bud of pride bloom in my chest. "Beat sin, beag bideach.*" _

_The guide turned to face the group. "Now, this place was where rituals by the Aborigines…" His voice droned on continuity, and I totally ignored it. Something else caught my sights. _

_A tall… Kangaroo? What the heck was a kangaroo doing on top of a rock? I strained my eyes, and he went right into the ground._

_How could a kangaroo do that? I wanted to find out, and I was going to find out then and there._

_I crawled past the guide, whose foghorn voice was flowing like a steady stream, and ran straight to the gigantic rock._

_I ran around for a while, looking for a foothold. I dug my small hands into a little handhold and used underdeveloped arm muscles to pull myself up. I groaned and muttered, "Smaoineamh Cliste, Heather**." _

_I had only climbed up ten feet when I turned to see if anyone was looking. They weren't looking…_

_They were driving away in the bus._

_I cried out, "Ta me fos anseo! ***" I jumped down and landed on my stomach, hard. With a cry and some tears, I scrambled up, but the sightseers were gone._

_For the second time in my life, I was left behind. I sat down and began crying, almost choking. I curled up in a small ball and began crying. I reached into my pocket, looking for a cell phone or flashlight, but, instead, pulled out a piece of paper. I stared at it, and then chunked it to the ground. I ripped off my necklace of the Irish, then cried out, "Ta me go leir ina n-aonar! ****"_

_I cried for what felt like hours. What was mum doing? What would she do without me? I was all she had left. _

"_Hey, ya little ankle-biter." A gentle voice comforted me. I looked up. "Ya lost?"_

What is an ankle-biter? _I thought. _And why is a kangaroo talking? _Mum said to never talk to strangers, and this kangaroo man was strange. So, I shook my head. Plus, I bet he wouldn`t understand Irish._

"_You sad?" He must`ve been native. His accent was Australian. So, he was an Australian-Kangaroo man that stated the obvious._

No, I`m just broken down in despair because I was abandoned by a tourist group in the deathtrap of Australia and my father died and I have nowhere to go and I`m all alone. _Was what I was going to say, but I bit my lip and practically drew blood._

"_You look scared."_

_I blinked quickly, trying to not cry, to not let him see I was scared. A tear from me exploded on the ground._

"_Hey, hey, hey, no crying." The kangaroo crouched down to eye level. (And that was a long way down.) "Where`s your mum?"_

_He wanted to know where mum was. I pointed to a stick._

"_A stick?" He blinked._

_Apparently, the Aussie Kangaroo wasn`t the sharpest knife in the drawer. I nodded and opened my hand, hoping he would get it._

_He reached over and picked it up gently. I grabbed it from him and began putting my art skills into use. He stood up, but not full height, which was probably six feet. (Though, to a short person like me, he looked about twenty feet.)_

_He nodded slowly when he saw the Opera house. "Where`s your dad?"_

_I looked down and, painfully, etched a cross. Daddy was in Heaven right now._

_The kangaroo`s eyebrows arched at the tips, bringing a sad expression across his face. "I`m sorry."_

_I stared down at the cross, wondering how soon I would be up there if I couldn`t get back. I stared up at him, my hazel eyes ready to overflow with tears._

_He smiled. "Want to get back to your mum?"_

_I nodded slightly and smiled._

"_Alrighty, hop right on." He picked me up as if I were something delicate, like china or glass. _

_We arrived at the hotel only a few moments later, and I ran right into the hotel. Luckily, mum hadn`t returned yet._

_I was halfway asleep and ready for bed when I remembered my necklace left behind. _

_As the years past, I soon forgot about the Kangaroo-man. But, I still believed…_

_**Now. Modern day Burgesses.**_

I ran.

As fast as I could, leaving behind the worries of my grade on the Algebra test, the project in Advanced ELA, and pop quiz in World Geography.

My hair whipped in my face, as if snapping a horse to quicken its trot. I reached the finish line before any of the others, laughing and looking like I had just finished sitting down.

"Wow, Heather." The coach glanced down at the stopwatch, and her eyes widened slightly. "Four miles in fifteen minutes."

I laughed. "That`s just the beauty of it, Coach." Though I lived in America for over ten years, my Irish accent still rang proudly whenever I talked. "I beat my record from last time, which was fifteen minutes and one point five seconds."

"Good job, Heather." My coach nodded. "As a reward, you can run in early. I must admit," She added as I turned to go.

"I never did think you`d make it in this class. You were a head shorter than all of the other kids when you first came. You could barely run ten feet without nearly getting a heart attack. You couldn`t even speak English!" She shook her head. "You turned out pretty well, though, and you`re almost taller than me."(It was true. She was five foot seven, and I was nearly five foot nine!)

"Yeah…" A cheerleader caught up and panted. "And… (Wheeze) A lot… (Wheeze) Faster…"

I went into the changing room and switched into my normal clothes. I washed off my face, and then walked over to a mirror.

The Luck of the Irish had been with me since I was growing. I turned out pretty darn good, in my opinion. I was a lot taller now (I looked down on at least three football players), I could play six instruments (and sing), third degree black belt in Brazilian ju-jitsu, and best runner on the school cross county team.

What I didn`t know, though, was that the Luck of the Irish wasn`t just with me…

I was soon to be the symbol of luck.

_**Yay! I hope you like that! Oh, and:**_

_***= Take that, tiny.**_

_****= Great Idea, Heather.**_

_*****= I`m still here!**_

_******= I`m all alone.**_

_**I just felt like throwing in a little bit of the Kangaroo joke, so… Haha.**_

_**Now, please do the second "R"… REVIEW!**_

_**No, really. I love hearing your voices, suggestions or complements, or what I could do to improve on my writing. (I also take requests)**_


	3. Hey, Manny! Heather earned a stalker

_**Yo, folks. I hope you enjoy this one. My new year's resolution is: Try and make my dad give me a BlogSpot so I can post my artwork .He he. Well, enjoy the chapter.**_

_**P.S., These some Aussie slang and Irish Slang in this chapter, I`ll also give you the translations.**_

_**NORTH POLE. Modern day. All Guardians arrived.**_

_Bunny`s POV_

"So glad you`re here." North walked around, gathering all guardians into the Globe Room.

Tooth pointed in random directions for her minifaries, shouting, "Lateral Incisor, Emerald street, Paris, Texas. Second molar, 1600, Water Street, London, England. Go, let`s move it, ladies."

Jack slurped his snow cone. (Didn`t make much sense to me, we were in the middle of the Arctic Circle.) Sandy was busy whapping an elf who was trying to steal his caramel latte. I yanked my paintbrush away from a rather annoying elf that was clinging on to the end like a leech. Cupid shot her bow and arrow at a target hanging from North`s swords on the wall.

"Why call us, North, when I`m so busy?" I set down my googie. _**(Googie is Aussie slang for egg. It`s true, go look it up!) **_

"Well, Aster, I figured you were almost done with…" His face went blank behind his bushy beard. He moved his hands in a circular motion that reminded me of a ceiling fan. "Whatever it is that the Easter Bunny does the day before Easter."

"Yeah. Paint eggs, plan routs, places, hiding spots, how much to hide, opening the tunnels, and, technically, a lot." I snorted as I turned my googie to the right, splatting on more bright green paint.

"Oh, I didn`t." North corrected. He pointed to the sky. "Manny did."

Tooth slapped her elegant hand over Cupid`s mouth. "Shhhh."

"I wasn`t gonna-" Cupid started, but Tooth`s minifaries also clamped their tiny palms over her mouth.

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh."

Jack glanced up from freezing elves. "Why would Man in Moon call us here?"

His cousin looked at him, trying to pry the minifaries off of her face. "I don`t know, but help me get these munchkins off of my face."

_TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!_

I covered my sensitive ears. "Yowch." I glanced at the source of the whistle, Sandy. "Mate, highly sensitive ears of a rabbit here."

Sandy rolled his eyes and, stubbornly, aimed his pointer finger at the sky. North grinned. "Ah, Manny! Sandy, I keep telling you, say something."

Dreamsand poured out of Sandman`s ears.

_**Burgesses High School. Same time.**_

_Heather`s POV_

My head was on my desk, and I was fast asleep. I hate geometry. (AKA, the Palace of No Mercy)

"Heather…"

I picked my head up, and I noted the entire class staring at me and snickering. I felt my cheeks turn scarlet. Only one face showed sympathy for me.

The boy who sat next to me, I think his name was Lartin, was staring at me, and looked rather sorry. This made me feel even worse.

_That header. Thinks I`m acting the gom…_ I groaned. _**(Header: Mentally unstable person. Gom: idiot/fool)**_

"Sorry, Mrs. Redmon." I quickly lifted up my book to my face, before she started giving me out. _**(Giving out: scolding) **_I looked at Lartin, who smiled sympathetically. I almost glared.

Mrs. Redmon pointed some stuff directly at me, embarrassing me and earning some snickers. Then she turned around and walked back up to her desk. I heard the soft scratching of paper against paper, and looked down at my homework.

Sitting on it was a folded up piece of paper. I carefully unfolded it, taking care the teacher (AKA, the Devil) didn`t see. Inside, in cursive, and scrawled in ballpoint pen, was a small greeting.

_Hi. I`m Lartin. You`re Heather, right?_

I glanced at him. He was smiling encouragingly. I picked up my green pen.

_Yeah. And?_

He wrote something, and tossed the note back.

_Me and some friends of mine are going out for lunch Saturday. I was wondering if you`d like to join us. Then we`d go and play some one-on-one basketball._

I blinked. "Um…" I muttered under my breath.

_Sure._

He smiled. The bell rang, and I quickly gathered my stuff and started out the door.

"Could I also walk you home?"

I turned and-speak of the devil!- there was Lartin. "Um, sure?" I more asked than said.

"Excellent!" He casually waved to his friends. "Catch you guys later!"

I blinked slowly, then quickened up my pace. Lartin caught up quickly. "Hey, hey! Slow down! I know you`re the best on the Cross- Country team, Heather, but you don`t need to try and race me." I stopped.

"Wait- How do you-?" I started, but he interrupted.

"I`m quarterback, and I`ve seen you run. Fantastic." He smiled.

Blast. He was cute. He had dirty blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and was rather tanned. He had a tight T-shirt that showed off large biceps and a six pack of abdominal muscles. British accent, too.

_Shut it, Heather! _I strongly resisted the urge to face palm. He was cute, but whenever I looked at any guy and started to think he was cute or hot, I saw something else. A pair of brilliant, emerald eyes.

"What`cha thinking about?" Lartin smiled flirtatiously.

I avoided eye contact. "Oh. Nothing. Just something really weird. Happened about ten years ago."

"Oh, really? What?" He nodded.

_Why is this guy so darn cute?_ I brushed it off. "I ran into a talking kangaroo."

Lartin laughed. "Wow. I like you. You`re nutty." I gave a weak smile and a laugh.

"Ha, yeah. Well, bye." I ran down my driveway and leaped over my doorstep. Quickly unlocking the door (My momma wasn`t home), I sped inside and slammed the door.

Was it just me, or was Lartin a little creepy?

_**Yay! Heather earned a stalker, and Manny has something important to tell the Guardians. When will destiny call a single mortal and incredible beings together?**_

_**I`d like to thank my 7**__**th**__** grade Math teacher, Mrs. Redmon, for constantly embarrassing me in her class. (I still don`t get fractions, though…)**_

_**Oh, need a pic of Heather? The person in the picture up near the title is fairly close. Except the eyes and hair.**_

_**Tell me what you think, please. And send in suggestions of how Heather meets the Guardians, I`m open and I haven't decided quite how… I need help. PLEASE!**_

_**Respond.**_


	4. The Necklace

_**In this chapter, Manny reveals why he called the Guardians together. Yes, it is a little weird… but still.**_

_Bunny`s POV_

I shielded my eyes from the bright moonlight for a few seconds, but then, it was slightly easier to bear.

"Oh, Manny, how are you?" North smiled up at the giant lunar space rock. "What is it, Manny? Me and my belly have sensed you called us together for a reason. Please, do tell."

Cupid started to raise her hand, but Tooth quickly slapped her hand over Cupid`s mouth. "Mmmph mrmp fermph." Cupid muttered, and you could tell she was muffled without looking at her.

Rolling my emerald eyes, I stared up at the moon, expecting a glorious revealing, like when we recruited Frosty and Love Bug. Yes, we did almost get what I was expecting. But, not fully.

See, it wasn`t exactly a Guardian. It was...

Well, it went like this:

The moon shone brilliantly onto a panel on the floor. The normal crystal rose up. "Oi, didn`t we go through this two weeks ago?" I blinked.

"He is- oh, no… No new Guardian…" North leaned down as the normal, blue gem split open and revealed a golden stone, only barely transparent.

Sandy exchanged confused looks with Tooth, and Love Bug glanced sideways at Frosty. "Well, North, what is it?" Cupid looked like she was going to explode from the suspense building up between her and the stone.

North investigated a large, blue piece of paper. "Hmm… in blueprints, it does not say about any golden stone." He puzzled, stroking his beard.

"Wait, you got blueprints for a rock?" I glanced over his shoulder.

"Maybe it`s an upgrade," Jack pondered. "Because gold is usually better than blue." Sandy seemed to agree with Frosty on that one small comment. He nodded.

The new slab of crystal gave a faint glow, and formed the shape of a really fancy _**D**_. I squinted. Yep, really, really, medieval- style fancy. All those flourishes and swirls. Jack stroked his chin at the same time Cupid did.

Jack blinked at his cousin. Then, the both of them said, "Great minds think alike." They both stared. "Jinks! Double jinks! Triple jinks! Quad-"

North motioned them to shut up. (And they did, can`t blame them.)

"A Defender?" North stepped forward, risking being blinded by the bright rays. "But, Manny, the last one, remember? Joan of Arc ended up on fire."

The gold in the stone slowly seemed to vibrate, faster and faster. Finally, It got so bright, I covered my eyes behind an elf's` hat. (I don`t know where the elf went, though…)

Eventually, though, I took the courage to peek out from behind my small cloth wall. I expected the stone to`ve blown up or something, but it was sitting there, just fine. Something appeared to be floating in midair, as if being dangled from a finger.

A bracelet? No, it was a necklace. A beautiful, pure, mawsitsit stone, carved with a Celtic cross set in the middle. It was too familiar.

_**Jack Frost`s POV**_

Bunny`s face was all scrunched up in thought as he stared at the necklace. Me and my cousin saw this and found it amusing. "Oh, Bunny," She snickered. "Don`t stand there like a yeti with too many choices of toys to choose, just pick up the necklace, like this." She stepped toward the stone, then reached out with her fingers and wrapped them around the necklace.

It didn`t move. "What the-"

North poked at it. "Hmmmm. Manny," North turned and stared up at the sky, but it was now empty. "Shtopat!" _**(Translation: Darn) **_North exclaimed, throwing his beefy tattooed arms in the air.

"Well," Tooth shrugged. "Does anyone know who this necklace belongs to?"

I shrugged. Sure, me and my cuz had been around a while. We had never seen that thing, though. Bunny stared at the necklace as if it were some sort of alien UFO, then shook his head. Tooth and North both exchanged glances that said, "We don`t know, don`t ask, don`t even try to think about you trying to ask."

We all looked at Sandy expectantly, who shrugged.

North raised his arms to the image of the necklace. "Whoever had bared this necklace, and lost hold of it, is the Defender."

_**Yeah, start adding two and two. I just felt like throwing in a little Jack Frost and his cousin, Cupid, AKA, "Love Bug" according to Bunny. Well, Bunny`s Easter day is… Erm, whenever I say so, so… enjoy.**_


	5. Green eyes and Easter Eve

_**Yay! I`m a waffle!**_

_**Okay, I lied. I just wanted to get your attention… Do I have your attention? Do I? Just- just nod… Okay? Good? Are we clear?**_

_**Great.**_

_Heather`s POV_

I braced myself as I leaped over the first hurdle. Too easy. I caught sight of the football players out of the corner of my eye. Lartin waved. I ignored him as I jumped. He looked very downhearted.

I risked a quick side glance and he smiled widely. I gave a fast wave.

Only to see a pair of huge green eyes flash through my eyes.

The hurdle came too quickly, and consciousness fled me.

_I ran up the hotel steps. Mum wasn`t there. _Oh, good!

_I quickly bathed and changed into my pajamas. As quickly as I could, I bounced into my bed. _Like a kangaroo. _I giggled at the thought and curled under the covers. I reached up and felt for my stone…_

_I sat up, taking note of the absent weight on my neck. My necklace! _

_I jumped up and paced the floor, looking for something, panicking. That was the last I had of my father…_

"Heather…?"

I groaned and saw Lartin staring down at me, his eyes filled with worry. The couch was also kneeling, checking my pulse. "Don`t move her!" She shouted. "It could be bad to move an injured person."

I sat up and rubbed my hazel eyes. "Don`t worry, I`m not seriously injured." I tilted my head to the right and produced a loud popping sound.

Lartin gently grasped my arm with both of his hands. "I`ll take her to the school nurse."

"I can walk." I mumbled, but he helped me up anyways. I almost glared. Why so nice? Honestly. A new kid, just here from Wisconsin, only took off his glasses, and -BAM!- all the girls fell at his feet, guys worshiped the very ground he walked on, and he was a huge kiss-up to all the teachers, so he really got whatever he wanted in class (Including automatic "A"s and high "B"s.)

Lartin assisted me into the nurse`s office, and I was sent to lay down on a cot, though I insisted I was fine.

"_I kept my side of the deal, now, where`s your part?" A voice kept insisting._

_A silver flash, blood…_

I sat up, surrounded by darkness. Almost on impulse, I stretched my arms out to my sides, then up and down. Oh, good, I wasn`t entombed.

A sliver of light flooded the dark room, but was partially blocked by two shadows, one of a male and the other a female. "She`s in here," The female said, then left. The male figure walked in carefully.

"Heather?" Lartin asked.

I muttered, "Saoire dom fein, no eile go mbainfidh punt do cheann me isteach."

"Hmmm?" Lartin`s face played a puzzled expression.

"Leave me alone, or else I`ll pound your head in." I clarified, sitting up.

"Doesn`t know what she`s saying," Lartin commented under his breath, then said more loudly, "Doc says you have mild concussion, so I guess you get to go off for a while on a vacation from school. Perfect time, Easter around the corner…"

He paused, and I stared into empty space.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" Lartin asked suddenly.

"Huh?"I blinked. "Oh, no, I can run."

I stood and ran to check myself out of the office at the front of the school.

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_North Pole. Bunnymund`s POV_

"Mates, I`ve got no time for a necklace." I snorted as I tapped my foot on the ground. A hole appeared, and I got ready to hop down.

"But, Bunny," Tooth gushed. "This is something off of Sherlock Holmes. We got a case!" Her minifaries buzzed in agreement,

"Yeah, Roo!" Jack happily slurped his eggnog (His fifth helping, might I add?) and grinned. "You can be Watson, and I can be Sherlock."

North rolled his eyes. "Bunny, you can go to Warren and prepare for Easter, we will solve new case and find Defender, and you can paint your eggs."

I gave a quick nod. "Tell Joan of Arc I said hi."

I wasn`t quite sure what I was getting into.

_**MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA ! I`m so eeeeeeevilllll… Anywho, I might update soon, or in a while. YAY! Have fun, live life, eat chocolate, and dream! God bless!**_

_**(Review, please! Reviews are like Oreos and chocolate! Can`t get enough!)**_


	6. Lonely

_**YAY! The weekend! I`m about to run around hyperactively! WHEEEEE!**_

_**(While I`m doing that, you just read and respond. PLEASE… ;)**_

_Heather`s POV_

That night, I finished my shower and changed into my "Pajamas": an old, baggy T-shirt and shorts. I curled up on the couch, watched the news, and drank Irish coffee. My mum`s old recipe.

It would be nice to have company. I lived by myself since last week when my mum went home to Ireland. So, flopping onto the couch, I seized the remote. While flipping through the news channels, someone rang my doorbell. "If it`s Lartin," I muttered and approached the door. "I swear…"

I opened the door and my mom`s old friend, Ms. Bennett and her two children, Sophie and Jamie, were standing there, holding a pot in their hands and a smile on their faces. "Hi, Heather." Ms. Bennett held out the pot. "I made you some vegetable soup."

"Oh… Thanks." I reached out and took the soup carefully in my hands. "Come on in, won`t you?" I opened the door wider.

Almost like a fairy Godmother had touched my house with a wand, my living room had a small glow of life and family.

Jamie grinned as they walked in. "How are you?" He asked. He must`ve been trying to act respectful. He was- but just not Jamie – like. He was trying to act like an adult.

I grinned at him. "Good, kiddo. How about you? Are you excited about Easter tomorrow?" I ruffled his brown hair.

"Yay!" Sophie threw her arms around me. "I wanna hunt eggs with you." She stared up at me with big green eyes.

I picked her up. "Of course, Soph. After Easter service, I will come to your house, and we`ll have some fun, okay?"

Sophie clapped her little hands. "Okay!" She chirped. I set her down, and she did a little jig.

Ms. Bennett smiled at me. "Heather, thank you. How are you?"

"Oh, I`ve been better. But still, do you want some Irish coffee?" I placed my cup on a coaster and started to stand.

"Oh, no thank you, Heather." Ms. Bennett looked at Sophie, who was dancing around with the stuffed pink rabbit. "She seems so excited, doesn`t she?"

I nodded. "Yes. Possibly-"

"Do you wanna help me look for the Easter Bunny?" Sophie hopped over to me and plastered her arms around my leg. "Please please please please pllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaas sssss…?" She begged.

I smoothed the young one`s hair down away from her forehead. "Of course, young`un."

"Yay! Then, he can take us to his Warren, where we can paint eggs and ride on him! Then, we can-" Sophie started listing. Her mum scooped her up.

"Alrighty, Sophie. Let`s stop pestering her. We`ll see her tomorrow." She chided. "Jamie, let`s go."

"Thanks, Miss Heather." Jamie politely shook my hand, but I bent down so I was eye level to him.

"Jamie, stop trying to be an adult. You still have a few more years before you turn into a teenager, and those years aren't very fun." I smiled. "Be a kid. Live life to the fullest, and eat chocolate."

Jamie smiled, revealing where he had lost his tooth a little under a year ago. His other one was now missing, proving he`d be getting a visit from the Tooth Fairy. "Now, be a kid, easy. Live life, I`m not quite sure… But the chocolate, I`m going for!"

I smiled. Sophie reached up and hugged me. "I love you, Miss Heather." She gave me a four-year-old peck on the cheek.

"I love ya too, munchkin. I promise, I`ll see you tomorrow. 'Kay?"

"Okay- dokee!" She smiled happily.

When they left, I was, once more, surrounded by the loneliness of my home. I almost cried.

_Bunnymund`s POV_

"Alrighty, my beautiful googies," I shouted as I marched them through the tunnels. "Let`s get moving! C`mon, mates!"

I tapped my foot and picked up a handful of eggs. Then, I flipped into the hole to go see my little ankle- biter.

_Burgesses. Two and a half seconds later._

I bounced into the Bennett`s backyard. Taking care to not alarm Abby, who was inside, and wake up the little ones. I set one in the tire swing, one in the tulips, and one under the drainpipe. Using the amazing acrobatic strength of my back legs and awesome skill, I bounded right onto Sophie`s windowsill. Carefully, I looked through to see if she was awake. Yep. There she was, dancing around happily.

Smiling, I tapped on her window. She turned and smiled. "Bunny!" She cheered silently.  
I smiled at her and put my two paws together, then tilted my head to the side and put my clasped paws on my cheek. I let out a fake snore. She nodded, and then curled up under her covers.

I smiled. I wanted them to be surprised tomorrow morning.

Little did I know, I was gonna be even more surprised myself.

_**My goal is to get 100 reviews on this story before my birthday, which is next month. So, PLEASE review. It`s a bet, and I don`t wanna lose… = (**_

_**Help me out here! All reviews get cookies and stickers!**_


	7. A jog, and Indiana Jones

_**So, you guys… the big moment I`ve been really mean to you about… yep… the big, huge, incredible moment I must now publish. So… here we go… into the next chapter… yep… the big one…**_

_**I`m being mean, aren't I? Yes, yes I am.**_

_**Okay… Here we goooooo…**_

_Bunnymund`s POV_

I hopped past a small, modest house stealthily. _What? _I thought. _Nothing for Easter, past Christmas, Halloween… What is it with the people who live here? _

Apparently, these people didn`t seem to like the holidays. I set down a googie, which seemed to stare up at me.

"Well, go on," I chided. "Give `em some hope."

The egg skipped up by the front door. I chuckled and bounded into the bushes to watch happy faces of little ankle-biters on the hunt for my beautiful googies!

_Heather`s POV_

I rolled in my sleep. I was dreaming, I must`ve been dreaming…

Oh. Good. No kangaroo man. No ice. No weapons, no blood…

I sat up and pushed the covers off me. I stood up and shot a glare at the clock. Engraved into the face was a glowing, bright blue _6:03_. Oh, well. What better time to run than in the morning?

I threw off my shirt and replaced it with a tank top. I glanced down at my shorts. I was too lazy to change those, so I threw on some windbreaker pants with about ten bazillion pockets over my PJ pants (AKA, Basketball shorts).

I grabbed a windbreaker jacket (I love those) and yanked on some tennis shoes. After lacing them up, I walked out the front door and tripped. "Oomph!" I stumbled. I turned to see if it was that annoying cat from next door, but it was…

An egg. A beautiful little, perfect, Irish green, Easter Egg.

I gingerly picked up the little thing, careful to not crumble its delicate shell. I used my right fingers to caress it gently.

It had been nearly twelve years since I had seen an Easter Egg. When Father died, my Mum and I couldn`t celebrate the holidays anymore. We were just too… too… I want to say depressed, but we were just, well…

Depressed.

There were no egg hunts on Easter Sunday for me, only business trips with my mum. On Christmas, we didn`t celebrate it. We just sat by the fireplace, the air woven with silence. On Halloween, I didn`t trick-or-treat. I watched a movie, or sat inside and stared out the window, watching people go door to door, having good laughs. Ever since then, there has been an empty vacuum between me and Mum. I never got close to her, like most did, or I never went on shopping trips, no matter how much I hated trying on clothes, but I still loved my mother…

I set the egg back to the ground, and I ran, attempting to shake the memories from my mind.

As I ran, I looked at my watch. Only two minutes had passed since I had climbed out of bed. I spun around in a quick 360 degree circle to warm up my ankles. I decided to take a quick jog through the forest, a path I had never taken, but if there were obstacles, I could jump over them. Simple.

Deeper and deeper I went into the forest, past a quiet little pond. There was an old bed there, a large hole broken in the very middle. I quietly wondered how the heck that ever got there.

I paused to take a swig of my water bottle and change the song on my iPod to Celtic Woman`s "Sky and the Dawn and the Sun". I really love Celtic Woman. It makes me feel like I`m back on the Emerald Isle. Home, sweet home.

I turned into the darker part of the woods, hoping I could find a place so I could settle down and enjoy my apple. (Don`t even ask why I went into the part most people turn away from, something drew me there…)

As I jogged, I decided to pick up the pace. I ran, then leaped, then swiftly flew until almost everything was a blur. I caught sight of a large, gnarled tree root growing out of the ground.

Well, I _was_ practicing for hurdle season, right? I sprinted, full speed ahead. Then, in slow motion, I crouched down and sprung up into the air.

I smiled happily as my curly chestnut hair slapped in my face. I didn`t notice my right foot was too low, and snagged between some loose poison Ivy. (When the heck did that get there?!) of the root. Only when I was about to land, I felt my ankle crack lightly.

I pivoted on my left foot to see what happened, but lost my balance. With a cry, I fell back, only to stress more pain on my ankle. "Oh, sweet mother of the land and sea, how do I get into these messes?" I bit back tears. I looked up at the sky, brightening every second. "Help!" I shouted.

_Bunnymund`s POV_

I sent off another egg. Ah, Easter. How I love the sweet season of hope. A smile crossed my face, and then my sensitive ears picked up something… A cry?

Yes, a cry. For help.

I set down the remainder of my googies and gave them a swift but gentle pat. "I`ll be back, my googies." I hopped off, unaware of the surprise and shock around the corner.

I rounded past the lake Pitch had disappeared by, taking caution to steer clear of the old wooden bed holder-thingy majingy…

Anywho, I paused for a millisecond. Had I missed something…?

"HELP!"

Nope. Still very much alive, and very loud. I sprinted a corner, and caught sight of the surprise of my life.

_Heather`s POV_

"HELP!" I shouted, I thought my lungs were about to fall out. My ankle was throbbing with intense pain; dark spots had clouded the edges of my eyesight. My fists were squeezed with slight frustration, my knuckles were nearly white.

My eyes were suddenly blinded. Gyah! Curse that sun. Everything in nature was against me today, wasn`t it?

So, I was a damsel in distress. What did I expect, Indiana Jones to come bounding in and sweep me off my feet? I snorted. Not likely.

I glanced upwards, and caught sight of the surprise of my life. Because, apparently, he does exist.

Just not exactly how I expected him to appear.

_**MWAHAHAHAHAAAA… I am so eeeeeeevilll… **_

_**So, you guys, the stakes for the bet has risen. It`s due the day after my B-Day, February 9**__**th**__**, so my deadline`s on the tenth. Remember: 100 reviews! If I lose, I can`t update for a month on this story. ACK! Please review! Even if you have to log in as guests, and review sixty thousand times, do so! We`re about halfway there, my fellow friends. I`m going to update more frequently, so you can squeeze in more reviews… Go and look back at older chapters you haven't reviewed yet, and PLEASE REVIEW! You guys have been great so far, I could hug you…**_

_**Share this story with people you like, hate, your friends, and allow the love to spread. =)**_

_**Reviews are like stickers and cookies! Oh, and like Heather says: "Be a kid. Live life to the fullest, and eat chocolate."**_


	8. Rescuing prince, to the POLE

_**Okay, so I have to go to the dentist tomorrow… WHAAAAA! :_( Elsewhile, enjoy!**_

_Bunny`s POV_

I stared at the girl on the ground. Her hair was a chestnut, that, when kissed by the sun, was more auburn instead. Her eyes were a hazel, and her teeth were a blinding super white.

Tooth would love this chic.

But was this girl alright? I risked a step toward her, and noticed she was seriously good looking. But, was this ravishing beauty unharmed? If not, then-

"Well, are you gonna gape over there, Indiana Jones, or are ye gonna help me out?" The girl almost demanded sarcastically. I noted an Irish accent as I cautiously hopped to her.

"You hurt sheila?" I examined her swollen and bleeding leg.

"No, I just bleed for the sheer enjoyment." She snorted, almost gasping as I hovered my paw over the wound. "Please get some help, or else this pain`ll knock me out."

I grabbed my boomerang. "No worries mate. I`ll put you out of your misery." I murmured.

I thwacked her- hard.

_Heather`s POV_

I blinked.

_Oh, look, my rescuing prince. He`s a… um… kangaroo._

I looked up. The sun was blinding me, I couldn`t make out his features. But, he wasn`t moving.

"Well, are ya gonna gape over there, Indiana Jones, or are ye gonna help me out?" I helplessly tugged at my foot, wincing. He bounced over.

_Yep. Kangaroo._

"You hurt, shelia?"He strode to my other side and was, I hoped, looking at only my leg.

I rolled my eyes sarcastically. "No, I bleed for the sheer enjoyment." _Oh my gosh, I sounded emo. _I inhaled as his paw brushed over my ankle. I couldn`t stand the white-hot pain searing like a fire in my blood and veins anymore. "Please get help, or I`m gonna knock myself out."

And then, a darkness attacked from the back of my head and forced my eyes to slide shut.

_Bunny`s POV_

I walked over and knelt down by the unconscious girl as I brushed a strand of reddish hair out of her face. _Wow._ She was a beauty. Thick lashes, an elegant nose, yep. The works. Funny thing though, they looked almost totally natural. I never knew a female could be so radiant, so fragile, so feminine, yet so… I`m not quite sure.

I almost slapped myself. _Stupid! Just get her to the Pole, and you`re good._

I tapped my foot twice, slug the female over my tattooed shoulder, and made my way to North`s workshop.

_**Sorry about the bluntness, but my mom is telling me to get a life (in her own special motherly way). I have to go. As most of you know, I`m still aiming for 100 reviews (Come on, guys! We`re so close with this one!) Or else I have to disappear off the face of the Earth for a full month. O_o Do you want that, because I really don`t want that. I`m beng serious, review. Please.**_

_**Love ya! ~TT2**_


	9. Not a girlfriend, nor a kangaroo

_**I`m going to write the next chapter now. Enjoy!**_

_**But:**_

_**TheJoyousCrosser: Love ya!**_

_**Falcrow (Guest): I don`t want to abandon this either! Thanks!**_

_**Cool kat (Guest): I know, right?**_

_**Warrioroftheravens: You`ll learn soon enough… and yes, we`ll hear more of the Defenders (And Joan of Arc) later.**_

_**Rylanwaterbender: I`m gonna hug you, sis!**_

_**Riley: Your name is too long, and I`m being lazy now. I like Bunny`s way of helping, too. =)**_

_**AIWOUATfan99: I love myself, too.**_

_**AnonyMouse101: Oh, yes, Bunny`s gonna get a beating…**_

_**Okay and I love all of you. ;)**_

_Bunny`s POV _

I bounded through the top of my hole and landed in North`s workshop. I spotted North messing with a diagram of the necklace, Jack explaining to Cupid how he flew without wings, Tooth still giving out orders, and Sandy communicating with Marcus, North`s sun.

"Hey, Roo- WOHOOOOOOOOOOO…!" Jack spotted the girl cradled in my arms. "Who is that lady and does she have a sister?" He leaned against his staff.

"Not one in the right mind to consider you." I snorted as North`s puzzled expression dissolved into amusement.

Tooth swiftly swept over, poking around the girls` mouth with elegant hands. "Oh, shiny, I was hoping any girl Bunny would start s- Erm, liking," She caught herself before she allowed a word out. "That she would have great teeth!"

I stuttered. "Me- wha- like- s-she is- she- she _saw _me!"

Jack grinned cockily. Cupid pressed her wrist to her forehead in a fake swoon. "But of course, Bunny," She batted her eyelashes. "What girl couldn`t see a fellow as dashing as you?"

I glared.

North looked at the girl in my arms, her head tilted back and eyes softly shut. Dust had layered her hair and lightly sprinkled on her thick eyelashes. Her mouth was only barely open, showing off a small part of her teeth, surrounded by full lips. Her shirt was torn, and she had been wearing two pairs of pants (and currently shorts) before the lower pair had been ripped off from a limb or tree.

Nope. North wasn`t buying it.

"_Da_," North stroked his white, bushy beard. "Take her up to a guest room. Bunny, your duty to take care of her."

I felt my jaw unhinge and drop to the ground (Not really, but how awesome would that be?). "What?"

North nodded while Jack, Cupid and Sandy smirked. "_Da, _of course. You kidnapped her, you watch her."

I wasn`t going to protest, but North held up his beefy "Naughty" arm as if I was. "Now, my Yetis will see to her while she is unconscious. You wait until the child wakes up."

The Yetis picked up my burden and carried her up to a guest room.

_Heather`s POV_

I heavily lifted my eyelids. _Ugh. I feel horrible. _Something fell into my eyes. I reached up and rubbed it out. _Dirt?_

Huh. I didn`t remember staying in my room and-

_GYAH! _I sat up and rubbed my bare knees. _WHAT HAPPENED TO MY PANTS?! _All of a sudden, I realized. _Oh. I have shorts._

The door cracked open. "Oh, good." An Aussie accent rang as clear as the sky from the sliver of light. "You`re alive."

I heard a growl emit from my throat. "YOU!" I threw a pillow that had been under my head at the kangaroo as I remembered him knocking me out with a curved stick.

I had a moment in which my coffee from that morning kicked in. I just about strangled the poor kangaroo.

In about six and a half seconds, I was grabbing his ears and yanking them, while he was using his furry mitts to headlock me. "Get off me!" He near about shrieked.

"WHY IN THE NAME OF THE MOUNTIANS AND SKY AND SEA DID YOU KIDNAP ME YOU… You…" I drifted my mind for a moment, searching for an insult. "KANGAROO!"

That must`ve hit a nerve. He spun me around, a paw gripping onto my hair, and leaned in, about an inch from my face. Then, he said in a severe tone: "I`m a Pooka, mate."

I blinked and allowed this to process for a quarter of a second before bursting out into laughter. His white tufts of fur on his face turned a pink. "What`s so funny?" His grip tightened on my hair.

I guess he didn`t like being laughed at, but, after kidnapping me, it was the least he deserved. "Pooka means 'Goblin' in my native tongue!" I resumed dying of laughter. He tugged on my hair slightly.

A white-haired boy, who must`ve appeared out of nowhere, slung a shepard`s crook over his shoulder. "Well, Roo here does look a bit unearthly."

"Nip it, Frosty." The kanga- sorry, Bunny- shot at him.

"BUNNY!" A thick Russian accent loudly crashed upon all our ears, including the rabbit`s. I thwacked him in the face.

"How many people did you kidnap?!" I shouted into his other sensitive ear.

A man wearing red and had a white beard nearly crashed right into the wall. "Bunny! Release our Defender!"

The rabbit stiffened.

The boy stiffened.

I didn`t stiffen, just punched the rabbit. He grunted.

"Wh- What?" The Bunny stumbled over his words.

"I said," The man took a deep breath and paused dramatically.

"Release our Defender."

_**Yep. I`m done for the night. Next Chapter should be up tomorrow. PEACE LOVE EAT CHEESE AND REVIEW!**_


	10. A saint

_**Promises are promises and facts are facts. And, I promised to type up the next chapter so you guys can review and not wait at the totally perfect cliffhanger I left you pondering upon. Enjoy.**_

_Bunny`s POV_

I sat as I stared at North, then at the girl, and then gaped back at North. "What?" I asked for the third time that day.

North entered the room and waved his hands between me and the girl, causing the both of us to release our death grips on each other. Tooth flew in and flipped on the lights. We all shielded our eyes and blinked, waiting for our eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness. "'Kay, did I miss something?" She flew over to the girl. "Hello, how are you? I hear you, great! I`m doing fine and fantastic… Ooooooooo I was right, you teeth are sparkly, aren't they, dearie? Mmm, yes. How long do you brush them, two minutes, no, three? Oh, four is best, but-" She paused to catch a gulp of air- "You do floss, right? Oh, good you do! Lemme see those pearly white teeth of yours!" Tooth pulled back the girl`s lips in order to examine her teeth.

Marcus chose this second to walk in and investigate the situation going on. "Tooth, fingers out of mouth."

Tooth blushed. "Oh, sorry." She smiled and flew to me. "Wonderful choice, Bunny." She winked.

I wanted to protest this statement, but she chuckled and took sanctuary behind Marcus.

The girl blinked. "Whoa, whoa, wait. What the heck is a Defender? Who are you? What am I doing here? Why is a goblin looking like a bunny? Why are there creepy little men with huge hats?" She gestured at the elves, which were currently liking the wall and doing Gangam style.

It`s better not to know.

I was still trying to get over the fact that this lovely girl, an Irish girl, was a Defender.

The girl brushed a chestnut strand of hair out from behind her ear and twirled it between her fingers. "Please explain your reasons, sir, and I will listen." She directed at North as she sat down.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

_Heather`s POV_

The man with the white beard sat me down and sat down in a rocking chair that had, magically, been sitting in the corner for the last five seconds. He started explaining, though it sounded more like a story than a fact.

"Once, a long time ago, during the dark ages, there was the Moon. Man in moon, or Manny, as I call him. He is good friend, keeps belief of childhood alive in the hearts of many, young and old, men and women, tall and short, of different races and ethnicity.

"One terrible day, however, Pitch Black came. He scared children, and on occasion, block out the moon and all its brightness. We were recruited to help keep the children comforted. To keep them smiling, hopeful, and live up to dreams of theirs. You do know of the hundred`s year war?"

I nodded. The older man stood up and commenced to pacing and stroking his beard. I suddenly noticed he had two tattoos on his arms- "Naughty" and "Nice".

"During the war, there was Plague, an old friend of Pitch and both pretty much messed it up. We couldn`t do a whole lot besides leave gifts and take their teeth and deliver dreams." The man chuckled. "Little did we know, but Manny has chosen out someone to assist and guide us, a mere mortal that soon rose up to be one of the most daring and significant female figures in all of history."

"Her name was Saint Jeanne la Pucelle, but she wasn`t a saint until after her death. She was born in France, January sixth, and the year was 1412." The bird woman put in. "She was so brave, and her teeth were better than most, I hope."

The Bunny pulled out a boomerang. "She was a nun, and heard voices that she told everyone was past Saint Michael, Saint Catharine, and Saint Margret. Those voices were really us."

"So, which were you? Margret?" I laughed.

He glared, but didn`t mention anything further of my comment. "We told her that Pitch and Plague were causing witch trials and discord. She was soon sent to Orleans with and army at her side. She began to win battle after battle against the English, taking back France piece by piece. She was the one that escorted a king, King Charles VII. This never would`ve happened if not for her."

The older man began speaking again, ignoring the little men dancing and singing _Lord of the Rings in 99 seconds_. "She was soon captured in battle and sold to Englishman for 10,00 crowns. She was accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake on May thirtieth, 1431. She wasn`t even twenty years old."

They all paused in a moment of silence, and I softly interrupted. "So, that woman was Joan of Arc."

They nodded.

I blinked. "So, what do I have to do with this?"

The older man sat back down next to me. I criss- crossed my legs. "You must defend us. We are the beliefs of childhood."

I stared. "So… You`re…"

"I am Santa, but called North to fellow Guardians. That is Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Jack Frost, Cupid, and Sandman. We are Guardians, we protect children and guard them with our lives."

For the second time that day, I fainted.

_Bunny`s POV_

I caught the fainting girl in my arms and chunked her back onto her bed.

"Did I just say something?" Wondered North.

"No. She just wasn`t entirely positive that we existed." I snorted.

North stroked his beard. "Maybe I should give her a brochure."

Sandy seemed to sigh, and rolled his eyes. Lightly pulling out a ball of his sand, he sprinkled it over the girl`s head. Patting her head affectionately, he shooed us out and all of us Guardians left the room, leaving the new Defender with her dreams.

_**My little brother`s being a jerkface right now, so I have to get off the laptop. Review, and send this to your friends. Love you all!**_


	11. Gifts of Defenders

_**Okay, so where did we leave off? Ah, yes…**_

_Heather`s POV_

_A gun. A knife. Someone dead. A bright light. _

I inhaled a deep, sudden breath and sat up sharply. No, I was still here, in…

Wait, where was I?

_No, I am not in Santa`s workshop. That was a dream. That was a dream… I lied, it`s not a dream. I _am_ in Santa`s workshop._

I quickly raised a hand to my right temple in order to drive away the sudden pain that was smearing up my brain.

_I just need some water. Or tea. Or, possibly, an espresso._

I pulled myself out of bed and examined myself in a mirror. I had only a few scars on me, over my arms and legs. I suddenly noticed a strip of some sort of rubber stretched and wrapped around my ankle. I checked my face. I was fairly good there; besides a small bruise besides my right ear that hobgoblin gave me.

Yep. He was a lady killer. And, to add further weirdness to my situation, I found him quite…

_Is that glitter on my head?_

I reached up, all thoughts about charming Pookas and sprained ankles flying away. When I pulled my fist around the glitter and examined it with my own eyes, I noticed it felt considerably lighter than glitter or sparkles. It was soft, and strange. I threw it in the air impulsively, without thinking.

Instantly, it swirled into elegant patterns and became a beautiful 3D artwork of a small girl riding on the back of a large camel with an older man. He bared an amazing resemblance to my father…

I gave a cough. _I just need some water. That`s it. I`m going to go downstairs and ask Santa Clause where I, Joan of Arc, can get some water. _A portion of a smile crossed my face. _Possibly in the Elf Workshop._

I poked my head out the door. _Okay, Heather, take it easy… _I slowly placed weight on my injured foot. I drew back with a tiny yelp. _Holy CRUD that hurts!_ I decided to not walk downstairs, but hop downstairs.

I was two and a half feet away from my room when I realized I didn`t know where the heck "downstairs" was.

_I don`t know, maybe down the stairs?_

_Yes, smarty- pants, but then where are the stairs?_

I didn`t have anything to say to myself. _Ha, touché!_

_Oh, shut up._

I wandered around before running into the strange little men with large hats. "Erm, excuse me?"

They turned around, and gave me stupid smiles, revealing pointy teeth. _Creepy… _"Are you the elves?"

They all pointed at each other, saying something which I roughly translated as, "I am!" "He is!" "We are!" "Me too!"

"Okay. Where is your workshop?" They all pointed in the same direction. To the floor.

_Well, that doesn't help._

"Okay, but how do I get there?" I raised an eyebrow, and they all pointed at a large door that was cracked open a sliver of a fraction.

I thanked the strange little Elves, who resumed slobbering on doorknobs. _Gross! I touched that…? Well, at least I used to._

I approached the door stealthily and drew out a conversation.

"… sure she`s it?" The Easter Bunny questioned loudly, as if unsure and in disbelief of the previous comment.

"_Da, _Bunny, I am not stupid. I am positive that sleeping girl upstairs is Defender." Santa`s Russian accent declared boldly.

_Wait, Santa`s Russian? _I thought stupidly as I listened to his comment.

A female voice joined in. "Okay, her name is Heather, which is a flower that grows in the land of plaid." There was a slight pause. "Wait, she grew up in France?"

Another female voice, which was the Tooth Fairy, as I recognized, sighed. "No, Scotland."

"But," Jack Frost commented past the protesting of the small sound of bells. "She had an Irish accent."

"There is no difference between an Irish and Scottish accent!" The female voice that was not the Tooth Fairy argued.

"Is too a difference." Jack Frost countered.

"Is not!"

"Is too."

"There is not!"

"Yes there is."

I sighed and leaned against the door. It creaked.

The argument stopped.

The conversation stopped.

I stopped breathing. I heard footsteps emit from the other side, but muffled as if to sneak. Quickly, I acted fast in knocking.

There was a breath of relief on the other side and the door swung open. When the group in the room saw me, there was a pregnant pause.

"Defender, what are you doing out of bed?" Santa`s blue eyes widened slightly. "You are injured."

"I just needed to get some water." I coughed.

He stared blankly.

I groaned. Something weird happened to my tongue that moment. It felt like it was getting yanked, and pulled, then calmed down, but it still felt like some needles were stabbing the tip of my tongue. "_Mne nuzhna voda_." All the Legends that were present dropped open their mouth in surprise. Even I was surprised, but I didn`t drop my jaw to show it.

"Well, well." The Easter Bunny barely smirked. "Gift of Tongues. There`s an attribute for a Defender."

I rolled my eyes. _Curse him and his smirk. _"I just needed to walk around-"

"_Nyet,_ Bunny, Take her up to room." Santa waved at the door.

The Easter Bunny started to say something, but I intervened. "That`s all right, Santa, sir, I can make it on my own." I braced up against the wall with my hand and started out.

"Bunny, go with her. And, please, Defender, call me North. None of Santa stuff used by you." North insisted, pushing Bunny.

"But, mate-"

"Bunny, she is your responsibility. You kidnap Defender, you take care of her!" North pointed strictly at me.

The Easter Bunny grumbled something, and grabbed my arm.

"Hey, Roo, easy with the lady." Jack Frost snickered. "Didn`t your mama ever teach you manners of how to treat a woman?"

The Easter Bunny glared daggers at him. Then, loosening his grip, he muttered, "Do you want to put an arm around me, or should I carry ya?"

I looked at my foot. It was feeling fairly blistered from the bandage wound around it. "I`ll just put my weight on you," I mumbled. No way was anyone carrying me today.

Not even the one with the green eyes that rescued me long, long ago.

_Bunny`s POV_

We were only a few feet out of earshot from North and the rest when I noticed she was staring at my eyes. "What?"

She shook her head quickly and looked away. "Sorry, I think I`ve seen you somewhere before."

"Oh." I glanced at her. Now, come to think of it, I`d seen her somewhere before too. I couldn`t place it.

The Defender pursed her lips. "So…" She swiveled her head to look at me. "The attributes of a Defender… What exactly are they?"

I shot a sideways glance to her. _Blast, her and her amazingly attractive feminine wiles! _"Um, they are attributes… of a… Defender… and her attributes." I awkwardly put out into our conversation.

"Oh." She kept her head in our forward direction, but her eyes were pasted on the wall.

"Well, I figured that much." She glanced up at me. "But, what are the attributes, exactly?"

_Oh. _"Well," I bit my lower lip. "They are the gift of tongues, which you have shown, honor, bravery, gift of wiles, gift of…" I realized what I had said.

She pursued her lips.

"I- I mean, gift of _weapons_," I very much wanted to face palm myself and evacuate to my Warren. But, I was responsible for her…

I resumed. "Gift in hand-to-hand combat, which you`ve shown plenty," I tenderly touched my jaw, in which she had created a lovely bruise that could be seen as a purplish-greenish- black.

She laughed a beautiful, ringing sound. "Aw, I`m sorry." She smiled.

I couldn`t help but chuckle. "Yeah, you really can punch."

The Defender turned her head and fully looked at me. "Yep, I oughta."

"Oh, really?"

She stopped and spun on her not injured ankle to face me. Our noses were almost an inch apart. "Yes, Easter Bunny. I didn`t know you could punch or bite or scratch or kick because I always imagined you being all cute and small and fluffy." She purred, moving closer.

I wanted to take a step back, but I was entirely glued to the floor by those hazel eyes. Instead, I moved my head back further.

She flashed a small smile. "But," She almost whispered. "You are much different than I imagined." She brushed her hand over my left arm and landed it on my flower-like tattoo. "Much, much different."

I was getting overwhelmed, but if this was overwhelming, I was certainly beginning to like it.

All of a sudden, there was a strange absence in front of me. The girl was leaning up against the wall, smiling and laughing.

A crimson blush stained my cheeks. "WH-what?"

The girl smiled. "Hey," She winked. "Gift of feminine wiles."

Her laughing followed me down the hall to North`s workshop.

When I reached my destination, I found my fellow guardians smirking at me.

I made an outburst. "WHAT?!"

_**Yep. Bunny`s got a problem! Starts with "L". No, not leprosy, starts with "L", ends with "E", and has four letters! No, not lice! (Grr…) Just felt like throwing it in there. Yes, I know. Only ten more reviews, or else I will live on Mars for the next month. I don`t want to. Because on Mars, there is no internet.**_

_**You guys rock, I`m open to ideas, send `em in! I`m almost serious. See, look: **__**O_0 **__**Totally serious!**_

_**Constructive criticism is welcome! =) Peace!**_


	12. The 'Talk': Version two

_**Yes, I left you pondering over the last chapter, like the jerk I am, MWAHAHAHAAA! I wish I could get Microsoft Office on my Kindle Fire HD… Does anyone know how I could? I would hug you. **_

_**Now… TO THE CHAPTER!**_

_Heather`s POV_

I couldn`t help but laugh as the Easter Bunny hopped off. I felt a little cruel, but the reaction was very much worth it.

I casually limped into my room, and found hot chocolate, water, and a sandwich levitating by my bed. _Omigosh! That`s pretty dang awesome!_ Was the first thought, and it repeated when I ate the food.

I laid back into my bed before another thought entered head: school. How long was I here? How long would I be here?

I chewed on my sandwich, still thoughtfully reviewing my situation. I sighed and started up.

A small man poked his head in, his yellow hair sticking up in spikes. He waved, and I blinked.

He had a kind face, with a warm sleepy smile. I gave a smile back. "Hiya, sir."

He pointed and moved his hands around. Some sand flew around and formed into the shape of an airplane. I grinned and batted at the image like a cat playing with a ball of yarn. I laughed in amusement as the sparkly image`s particles swirled. "Oh," I looked down at him. "You must be Sandman."

He pointed at me, nodded, the formed the shape of a shield with an elaborate _D _engraved on it.

"Yes, I appear to be Joan of Arc. Or, am I the recantation, of something?" I folded my knees up to my chest, rocking myself as I pondered in the vast curiosity of historical figures.

He shook his head.

I chewed on my lower lip, pausing to think of the question at hand. "Erm, Sandman, do you know when I`ll get back to college, because I need to get there soon… No? Okay."

He held up two fingers.

"Erm, days?" I cocked an eyebrow.

He nodded.

"Until I get back?"

He shook his head, then held up an image of a calendar and elegantly crossed off two days.

"Oh, been here for two days. Gotcha." I went back to my hot chocolate.

Then, the information seeped in before I imploded.

"WHAT?!" I jumped up, never noticing the screaming pain echoing throughout my leg. "WHILE MY FELLOW STUDENTS HAVE BEEN IN SCHOOL AND PREPARING FOR FINAL EXAMS I HAVE BEEN LAYING IN THIS BED, ASLEEP FOR TWO FRAGGING DAYS!?"

Then, there was a small _poof _and a puff of golden dust before I collapsed to the ground.

_**Elsewhile, North`s Workshop**_

_Bunny`s POV_

I was watching North, who was smiling happily and stroking his chin in amusement.

Cupid, Jack, and Tooth were smugly grinning from ear-to-ear.

"Awwwwwww…" Jack`s smile only widened. "Looks like Bun-bun has a little bit of a crush."

"Aww!" Cupid chorused. Tooth clapped in ecstatic delight and North threw a beefy arm around my shoulders.

"Bunny, come. We now have man talk." North grinned. His son groaned.

"Oh, Papa, not _the _talk, right?" Marcus looked utterly disgusted.

Jack blinked."What`s this said 'talk'?"

I ignored him as Cupid told him he should`ve already had "The Talk", and I shrugged North`s arm off me. "I`ve already had that, I don`t want to go over it again, thank you very much."

"_Nyet,_ not that talk!" North looked utterly disgusted. "The other talk."

"Oh, wait, hold your kangaroos, hold the phone, hold whatever you`re holding!" I raised both paws in protest. "There`s _another _talk?"

"_Da _now shut up and walk." North calmly grabbed me by the scruff of my neck and dragged me through his shop.

"Now, to talk." He popped his knuckles and the doors slammed shut.

"What the bloody…" I glanced at the doors, and then looked over at North, who looked rather cheerful.

"Bunny, allow me to be first to congratulate you!" North beamed and nearly strangled me in a bone crushing bear hug.

"Um… Thanks?" I managed to gasp and catch a breath of air when he released me.

"Oh. You don`t know?" North approached his desk and started digging through an ancient drawer.

"Nope."

North resumed to rumble through the old brown rowan tree desk. "Hmm… Now where did I…" He held up a prehistoric smoothie maker. "Oh, that`s where it went." He thoughtfully mused, throwing it over his shoulder and resuming digging through the old desk drawer.

I successfully avoided the old blender as North held up an old black and white picture. "Here, here it is." He cradled the picture like a precious jewel between his fingers. "What do you see?"

I peered at the people in the old photo, which were a dashing man and a beautiful young woman. "Whoa, North, is that you…?" I blinked. North looked really good back then. "Ya know, if you stayed like that, ya might have more fan girls, ya bloke."

North chuckled.

"Who`s that?" I pointed at the woman.

North tenderly caressed the woman`s face. "She was my wife."

I blinked. I knew North was married and helped bring Marcus into the world, but I never saw his wife. She died, I had heard. I knew North looked pretty hunky to most other girls when he was much, much younger, but I never thought even he would have fallen for a girl. He was a known thief and bandit all through Siberia, but still…

She was very elegant, with black, ebony hair and a white smile. She wore a brown fur coat with brass-gold buttons. I could see why North fell in love and all with this angel, but I still couldn`t see why he had bought me here.

"Ya fell for her, didn`t ya?" I grinned and glanced up at North cheerily.

"_Da_, fell I did, and I fell hard." North angled it so I could look better at it, though I had seen it perfectly and memorized it. (I was pretty good at photographic memory, I could see one`s face once and never forget it.)

North delicately set the picture on his desk and smiled at me. "Now, reason I bought you here."

"Um, to have 'The Talk', volume two?" I shrugged. North nodded.

"Mm, _da, _but how about your Lucinda?" North placed a hand on my shoulder. I blinked.

"Eh?"

"What I mean, Bunny," North smiled gently, but in a fatherly way, like I had seen Sandy smile at our Defender or North smiling to Jack and Cupid. "You are in love."

I stared at Father Christmas, and then burst out laughing, crouching with my paws on my knees.

North looked totally and deathly serious.

"Ah, North," I grinned and pushed myself up from doubling over. "Always got a joke."

North looked totally and deathly serious.

I wiped away a tear.

North still looked totally and deathly serious.

Then I realized North _was_ totally and deathly serious.

"Aw, come on." I sighed.

North raised the pointer finger on his right hand, but there was a knocking at the door. North sighed. "Open." He called.

The door opened, revealing Sandy. He waved happily, then pointed at the door.

Yetis walked in, carrying the Defender, who was wrapped in duct tape and a strait jacket. (Hey, calm down! I was kidding about the straight jacket and tape!)

"Oh, Defender, welcome." North gestured grandly around his private workshop and smiled broadly. "Welcome. Come in. Phil, John, is that way we treat Defender?"

They dropped her to the ground, and she drowsily stood up, wobbled like a crazy person for half a second, then snapped out of it and put all her weight on her still-good leg. "I have a name, sir. Call me Heather, and I will call you North. We will work together just fine."

North smiled. "_Da, da_, but of course!" He sat down in one of his cool spinney-armchair thingys that had magically appeared behind him. "What is it you want to discuss?"

"North, sir, I need to get back to school-" She started and brushed some reddish hair out of her face.

_She`s so cute- wait, what the bloody heck?_ I shook myself out of it before I could blush remembering that scene in the hallway.

_Heather`s POV_

_He`s good looking for a rabbit- goblin kangaroo thing. Wait, what?_

I winked at him playfully, knowing he would be thinking about the little game I had played in front of my bedroom earlier.

The results were nice. He turned a lovely shade of pink. I giggled. He went from the color of rose to the shade of overripe tomato.

North waved his arms around and leaned back. "_Da_, I will take you home later."

"But sir," My stomach lurched with a sudden wave of urgency. "My exams are next week and…"

"Oh." North leaned onto his right knee. "You have a dance coming up, no?"

"Yes, but I`m not going to that." I held up both my palms. "I just want to get there in ti-IIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE E!"

I landed right in front of my house. _Oh, North uses portals._

I rubbed my head as I sat up and stared in shock at the swirling vortex of purple and white and pink. "Wow." Was really all I could manage.

A clang sounded from my house.

_Oh, skies,_ I froze. _Someone`s in my house._

I grabbed my machete I kept behind the water hose and crept in. In the kitchen, I found the surprise of my life.

A woman in her middle age was stirring something in a large pan. Though I could make out a few silver hairs, her hair was still a brown-red. Her eyes were a warm brown, but something about them made them seem more squeezed to the world. I hadn`t seen her in almost four years.

"Hi, darling." She smiled.

Tears blurred my vision, leaving paths on my cheeks, and the chill that had just sent through my body made me drop my weapon.

"Mum?"

_**I dedicate this chapter to my mother, who makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the universe (My universe, so it counts), who started from a hard rock, but ended up with us. God has blessed you, Mom. (She`s currently in the dining room. =) I love you!**_

_**Anyways, Review! It`s a week till the deadline, but I can never get too many reviews! First one to review that`s not Rylanwaterbender (She`s my sister, AKA, TT3) gets cookies! **_

_**Only one more, ten more and I make some of these chapters into songfics! (Not a bad idea…)**_

_**I`m open to ideas! I love you all, you rock, dude!**_


	13. Monster

_**Personally, I love Skillet. Both the band and the cooking tool. ;) So, part of this is to Skillet`s song, Monster.**_

_**Oh, and here are some really quick shout outs:**_

_**Anony mouse101: Yes, I like songfics, too. And… possibly, he might, just might, give Heather the necklace. You get a virtual hug and a cookie! YAY!**_

_**TheJoyousCroser: I get prouder and prouder of each chapter… What if Jack was holding some sort of bank safe or weight? He`d drop it on his bare feet. (That`ll teach him to wear shoes, hehehe… Converse, perhaps?)**_

_**Riley-Hell`s-Princess: I am so glad that you can`t wait for the next chapter, because I can`t, either… This story is fun.**_

_**Rylanwaterbender: My dear sister, your review was the very 100**__**th**__**, but that doesn`t count because you and I are sisters and we live under the same roof. I still love ya.**_

_**Now, blah, blah, blah… Oh, yes…**_

_Heather`s POV_

I just stood there, staring at my mum, stuttering like an idiot. "Wh-when did you get here?"

Mum went back to busying herself with the dish she was preparing. "Oh, your friend, Morgan, I think."

Oh, Morgan. A cheerleader, a flute player, and a singer. Me and her used to be at each other`s throats, then we magically became best friends. Mum smiled. "She said she`d come over just as soon as-"

"OHMIGOSH HEATHER ARE YOU OKAY CAUSE I TEXTED YOU LIKE, TWENTY THOUSAND TIMES AND YOU DIDN`T RESPOND!" A girl that was half a year older than me burst in, holding her cell phone in one hand, her hair straightener in the other, breathing hard, her brown hair swinging. "WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN FOR THE PAST TWO DAYS?! AND WHO IS THE LADY COOKING HAGGIS?!"

Mum sighed. "It`s not haggis, it`s corned beef hash. You must be Morgan, and I am Heather`s mother."

"Oh, hi, Ms. O`Shona. How are you?" Morgan went from alarmed and hyperactive to calm and cool in exactly point zero six seconds.

"Fine." Mum turned back to me as she placed the beef on a plate. "Do you want to stay for lunch, young`n?"

"No ma`am. I`m good." Morgan looked at me, and then pulled me into the hallway.

"Hey, what`re you-?"

Morgan let go of my arm. "Do you wanna spend the day with your mom?"

I blinked. "Eh?"

"You haven't seen you mom for, like, ten years… Would you like to hang out with her?" Morgan responded coolly.

"Um, what would we do? And plus, I have a super busy schedule."

Morgan shifted her feet. "I sorta kinda told her that you didn`t have anything to do today and that you were just gonna sit around all day and do nothing when I called her."

"Morgan!" I sighed.

"Well, I wanted you to have some quality time with your own mother!" She protested. "You said she didn`t do Christmas, so I- well- maybe told her you needed to go get some new clothes for the dance." She braced herself for my verbal attack.

"Morgan!" I groaned louder. "I don`t need anything, I`m possibly not even going to that dumb dance!"

Morgan shook her head. "I told her you needed stuff for the Christmas Dance, because that`s more important."

I opened my mouth, but my mum stuck her head into the hallway. "Dear, I finished lunch. When we`re done, we can go shopping!"

"Okay, Mum," I smiled weakly.

After nearly giving Morgan a death stare, I walked in to go and enjoy my lunch of corned beef hash, potatoes, rice and coffee.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I walked through the mall with my mum. On occasion, I would see an innocent child drift away from the protection of their parents, a nightmare in the corner, a thug or darkness. I saw the world from different angles, different views, and feeling pains from others.

I wanted to demolish it, get rid of it. I wanted to go into a psychotic rage and turn into the Hulk.

_**The secret side of me,**_

_**I never let you see**_

_**I keep it caged**_

_**But I can`t control it**_

I was almost shaking, wanting to lash out at the shadow of children`s bad dreams.

I didn`t want anyone to know my new way of seeing the evil and darkness of the world, slowly morphing innocence into corrupt pain and fear.

"So, how have you been, dear?" Mum smiled as she examined a pair of shoes. I was glaring at a nightmare, telling it to just go away in the deep section of my mind.

"Hm?" I snapped away my attention from the nightmare to my mum. "Oh, just fine."

_**So stay away from me**_

_**The beast is ugly**_

_**I feel the rage**_

_**And just can`t hold it **_

The creature inside of her just wanted to crawl out and get those suckers then and there. She could barely contain her hate bubbling over the brim.

_**It`s scratching on the walls**_

_**In the closet, in the halls**_

_**It comes awake **_

_**And I can`t control it**_

I allowed a shaky breath to leave me. My mum looked concerned. "Heather, are you alright?"

"I- I just feel sick."

_**Hiding under the bed**_

_**In my body, in my head**_

_**Why won`t somebody come and save me from this?**_

_**Make it end!**_

My mum gripped my arm and led me out to the car. We passed a group of nightmares racing along.

How could my own mother not know this? See this terrible ongoing war?

I needed someone to help me.

_**I feel it deep within**_

_**It`s just beneath the skin**_

_**I must confess that I **_

_**Feel like a monster**_

Was this why Joan of Arc went to stop the English? To keep all the fear out of the world, away from those she loved?

_Why me, of all people?_ I thought, leaning my forehead against the cool passenger window._ Am I to become an absolute warrior?_

_**I hate what I've become**_

_**The nightmare`s just begun**_

_**I must confess that I feel like a monster!**_

_**I feel like a monster!**_

_What about the little ones? _I sat up, suddenly alarmed. What if Sophie or Jamie, or their friends saw me going through these trials, watching me slowly transform into a monster?

_**My secret side I keep  
Hid under lock and key  
I keep it caged  
But I can't control it  
Cause if I let him out  
He'll tear me up  
And break me down  
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?  
Make it end!**_

Eventually, I knew, it would all have to come out. No matter how controlled she thought she was with this. But, if she let out the warrior in her, it would destroy her, like it had to Joan of Arc.

_**I feel it deep within,  
It's just beneath the skin  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster  
I hate what I've become  
The nightmare's just begun  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster  
I feel like a monster**_

I felt it pounding in my chest. It wanted to get out, desperately.

Not knowing what else to do, I threw open the car door at a stoplight and ran. I ignored the shouts of my mum and passerby.

_**It's hiding in the dark  
It's teeth are razor sharp  
There's no escape for me  
It wants my soul,  
It wants my heart  
No one can hear me scream  
Maybe it's just a dream  
Or maybe it's inside of me  
Stop this monster!**_

I ran until there was only one spot I recognized; the place where my life had changed forever. The old tree where I had met the Easter Bunny.

Nightmares surrounded me, sensing a weak point. "Just leave me alone!" I shouted, and squeezed my eyes shut. _Maybe this is a nightmare. A dream, a bad, horrifyingly real dream._

Who was here for me? No one would appear magically and save me. These beasts wanted my soul, my heart and mind.

"Leave me!" I cried, only with a more quivering tone than I wanted them to hear. They snorted and approached closer.

_**I feel it deep within  
It's just beneath the skin  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster  
I hate what I've become  
The nightmare's just begun  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster**_

My monster inside of me wanted out. I wouldn`t allow it.

I heard a battle cry. "Get outta here, ya stupid ponies!" A boomerang flew over my head. I glanced up, and saw a furry figure fly over my head.

_**I feel it deep within,  
It's just beneath the skin  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster  
I'm gonna lose control  
Here's something radical  
I must confess that I  
Feel like a monster**_

Easter Bunny hopped over to me. "Heather, are you okay?"

_**I, I feel like a monster**_

"Bunny," I gripped onto his fur, something I didn`t expect myself to do. "I feel terrible."

_**I, I feel like a monster**_

There was something in Bunny`s emerald eyes…

_**I, I feel like a monster**_

Tenderness. I suddenly regretted messing with him in the hallway as I flung my arms around his neck. "I`m so, so…" I couldn`t finish, thanks to the rush of emotions. Fear, hate, nervousness, worry.

_**I, I feel like a monster!**_

"Hush, hush," Bunny chided, gently hugging me tighter. He stroked my head and hummed quietly.

And I hugged him back.

It was just me, my Guardian, my Hero, and the gentle arms of him in the woods where my life was forever altered.

_**D`awwwwwww! Some BunnyxHeather fluff, and yes, that was cheesy. Blah blah blah. Anyway, last night, I was watching Jurassic Park and drank some Ny-Quill stuff. I was kinda Sokka on Cactus Juice for the rest of the night. If you don`t know how that is… there is Google, Bing, and all those other search engines. That`s me in a nutshell.**_

_**Review, tell me what you thought!**_


	14. In which our villians come in

_**Yes, I really do love this story. My Birthday is this weekend. YAY! Anywho, this might be the last chapter I post until Saturday… Got some fan art to draw… It rocks.**_

_**Anyways, I`m gonna try and get my New Year`s resolution solved… Elsewhile, enjoy!**_

_Bunny`s POV_

I cradled the girl in my arms, listening her to cry like a little ankle-biter. It wasn`t safe for her here.

The same thing happened to Joan of Arc, she nearly went crazy. The other Guardians (that were there before I joined) had to take her and calm her down, putting her through series and trials of mental and physical pain. But, they let her go too soon, and she was burned at the stake for chasing down nightmares, Pitch and Plague. I nuzzled her with my nose. "Heather?"

She didn`t say anything, but I knew she heard me.

"Do you want to come and stay in the Warren or North`s workshop?" I pulled back and glanced down at her, doing my best to give a smile that was comforting. She nodded. I paused her on the back, hoping she wouldn`t thank I was treating her like a child.

She stood up and looked at me, never taking her hazel eyes off of me. I held out my paw and she took it. "Alrighty," I smiled and pulled her onto my back. "Hang on!" I shouted as we dropped down the hole with a blur of green, brown, and the occasional purple.

_/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/_

A dark creature stood, watching as the pooka and girl traveled downwards. The figure then arose, taking his scythe with him.

"Brother, they have her." Says he, kneeling down to the hole, ignoring the stench of rotting wood lingering in the air.

"So, we lure them?" A pale gray hand reaches out, searching assistance.

His brother grips the wrist, pulling up the younger one. "Patience," He chides. "Last time that happened, you got defeated by a boy."

"So, what do you suggest we do?" The younger one grunts as he hauls himself out of the hole with his sibling`s help.

The older smiles at Pitch. "We cause discord, starting with…"

He curls his sick, black-green dirt into the figure of a strong, young blonde British man. "We start with Lartin Davis."

Plague Black nods to himself. "Yes," He muses. "Lartin Davis."

_**Review!**_


	15. A date, a chase, and a river of paint

_**I`m back, and I`m fourteen now. YAY! Anywho, Next chapter, I`ve got the summary planned out but I need stuff to happen in between! This is where you enter, my friends, and tell me what you think I should happen between here and the end of the story, the sequel, and the sequel to that. Please help. Seriously.**_

_Heather`s POV_

I climbed off of Bunny`s back and glanced around. "Wow," I rubbed my eyes to get rid of the dryness and cease the last of the tears. The breeze ruffled green grass, greener than I can remember Ireland being. Tulips in all different shades, purple, blue pink, red, yellow and orange… The list ran on and on. "This is so pretty." I stood on a hill and spread out my arms, allowing the wind to blow away my recent fears and anger.

"Yeah, she is," I heard Bunny say, sounding dazed. I shot a glance over to him and saw he wasn`t looking at the scene set before us, he was looking at me.

I brushed an invisible strand of hair behind my ear.

Bunny blinked quickly and shook his head at lightning speed. "I-I mean, yep." He straightened his back and smiled broadly. "It is."

I exhaled a bit, not quite sure what to say. "Um…" I turned so I was fully away from him and not looking at him. "I`m sorry about the whole thing… In the hall." I rubbed my right arm, and then clasped my hands together. "I guess you I wanted to see if anyone would fall for my big, brown eyes." I muttered, blushing red.

"Hey," I felt a presence hovering behind me and turned to see Bunny right behind me, smiling calmly. "I didn`t mind. Plus, I mean, it worked." He was staring at me intensely. "And, they`re hazel."

"Hmm?"

Bunny nervously reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Your eyes. I- I kind noticed t-that they`re not green. Or brown, in fact, a mix of both." He dropped his arm and smiled. "Hazel."

I chuckled. "You know, even if you`re a bunny, you`re still-"

_**BRING BRING! BRRRRRRINGBRRRIINNNNNNNNGGG!**_

Bunny blinked. I stepped back. "Erm, that`s mine," I let out a nervous giggle as I answered. "Hello? Heather speaking."

"_Ohmigosh, Heather, WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU?!"_ The shrill shout of Morgan nearly deafened me.

I yanked the phone away, revealing what was worth wincing about to Bunny. Guess what? He winced too.

"Um, with a friend. Can you try to not deafen me every time I miss a call?" I was, of course, more than slightly annoyed with Morgan interrupting me and Bunny.

"_Well, durh! I ran into Lartin and he wants to know if you want to go to the dance with him and ohemgee I can`t breathe!" _I heard her starting to hyperventilate on the other end.

"Who`s Lartin?" Bunny tilted his head to the left slightly.

"Morgan, that dance isn`t for more than half a year!" I sighed.

"_I know, but this is- HELLO- __THE__ Lartin Davis here!" _She swooned. "_Heath, I am, like, TOTALLY JELOUS!"_

"Who`s Lartin?"

"Morgan, I don`t have to worry about that-"

"_Lartin wanted your number so he can call you! I`m gonna give it to him!"_

"Mother of the sea, I don`t want him-"

"WHO IN THE BLOODY HEY IS LARTIN DAVIS?!" Bunny gripped his ears and nearly tied them around his head in his state of either utter terror or disgust, I don`t know.

"_Um, who is the one dude with the French accent?"_ Morgan said. _"And why is he even listening?"_

Bunny snatched my phone and gnashed his teeth. "I`M AUSSIE! A PROUD FULL BLOODED-" Here he inhaled deeply. "_AUSTRALIAN_!"

Clearly, he didn`t like the taste of French cuisine.

I snatched my phone back from the seething pooka and seized it up to my ear. "He`s not French, he`s Australian. And I`m standing here with him in his…" I cautiously glanced around the Warren. "House."

Morgan gasped on the other end. _"WHaAat! You made out with him?"_

"No!" I shouted as Bunny blushed a dark crimson.

"_GASP! You were! Is he cute? I`m available, ya know!" _She declared loudly.

Bunny coughed.

"Morgan!" I hissed. I gritted my teeth. "Stop it. I am going to cut you to little mint-sized ribbons when I get back!"

"_Okay, sheesh, Miss Grouchy. Touchy, touchy…" _

I glared at the speaker of my phone.

"_Kay! I`m gonna tell Lartin you said yes! Bye!" _Morgan hung up.

"Morgan?" I sighed in frustration and stuffed my phone into a pocket before I snapped it in half with my teeth.

Bunny crossed his arms. "Okay, who`s Lartin?"

I sighed. "A boy," I snorted and glared in the opposite direction of Bunny.

He hopped right into my vision. "Not just any boy, eh?" He whistled. But, he looked angry. "Is it also some sissy male who hasn`t even hit puberty?"

A plan formed in my now devious mind. "Well." I calmly strolled to a steep drop in the hill. _This`ll do._ "At least he isn`t a miserable, stubborn, smart and strangely attractive Aussie kangaroo!" I smirked and walked slowly down the hill. _Feminine wiles, come to me._

"Well, good to know! Because I- OI!" He suddenly realized what I was saying. I glanced behind me and laughed, yet I totally ignored the laws of physics and gravity.

I meant for him to fall into the paint river, but it ended very different.

Totally different.

_Bunny`s POV_

I ran behind her, but my anger was ebbing away quickly when she looked back and screamed out of sheer joy.

I suddenly saw what she was trying to do.

_Oh, you clever girl._ I chuckled.

She jumped across the paint river, and only stumbled slightly when she landed. I bounded over the river and tackled her.

"OMPH!" She grunted when I pinned her down. She wasn`t angry, though. She was laughing, actually. Her hazel eyes were sparkling when she tried to push me off her. "Get off," She giggled.

I simply had to smile. "Nope."

"Yes."

"Nu-uh."

"Uh-huh."

"No."

"Yes."

I shook my head cheerfully. "No, you deserve to be pinned down for calling me a kangaroo."

"I wasn`t calling you a kangaroo. I was implying it upon you."

I grinned. "Same thing,"

"No." Heather`s eyes glittered once more.

I pretended to sigh in exudation. "Fine." I stood up, only to flop down on my back next to her, earning a laugh from Heather.

She stared up at me. "I know where I`ve seen you," She suddenly said.

I propped myself onto my elbow so I could face her. "Tell me, how did you figure that out?"

"When Morgan asked if you were cute, I realized that-"

I rolled onto my stomach, still glancing to my right so I could see her. "So you think I`m cute." I smugly chuckled as I placed my head in my paws.

"We`re getting off subject," Heather quickly said (I had the feeling she agreed with me, though). "Anyways, I remembered how cute I was when I was little."

"How modest." I commented.

Heather ignored me. "Well, I think it was, what, twelve years ago?"

I blinked. _ Little girl. Reddish hair. Hazel eyes. _"Y-you were her?"

She blushed and looked down. "Yeah, I was." And embarrassed smile reached her face.

I chuckled and released my right paw from lifting my head. "Well; you`re no ankle-biter anymore." I lifted her chin slightly.

Heather`s smile widened.

"Hello-OOOOoOoO!" A Russian accent exclaimed. I released Heather and self consciously rose, whilst Heather did the same.

North stood there, his face looking somewhat like this: O_O

"Tell me, please do," He leaned on one knee. "Am I bothering you any level?" He smirked, clearly amused with the scene.

Me and Heather stood there, slightly baffled at the sudden arrival of Nicholas St. North. "Um…"

"No."

"N-nothing. Absolutely-"

"Positively-"

"Nothing." Me and Heather finished at the same time.

North, I don`t think, believed us.

_**YAY! I posted it! Please tell me what you thought, constructive criticism is welcome! Remember: I need a couple of ideas to add to the story, cause if I have nothing in between Easter and Christmas, this`ll be a really short story. REVIEW! MAKE THE LITTLE BUTTON HAPPY!**_


	16. Oh, What a Beautiful Morning

_**HI.**_

_Heather`s POV_

North smiled smugly. "Well, since you were suffering, you stay in Bunny`s Warren."

I liked the thought of this pretty setting, all the flowers, life, trees, peace… But why here?

Huh. Can`t look a gift horse in the mouth, I guess.

Bunny shook his head. "North-"

"Well, bye!" North casually strolled to his recent portal and waltzed through, apparently muttering something about telling Jack.

Oh, crud.

Bunny mumbled something impolite, by the sound of it, then looked at me and motioned me forward. "C`mon, I`ll show you where you`re gonna sleep."

He led me to a willow tree. He brushed aside the vine- like leaves and nodded in, to the willow.

Cautiously, I stepped in. My breath almost failed me.

It wasn`t pretty, it was… _beautiful_. The ground was generously dosed with the greenest of grass and multiple purple-pink tulips laced around the outside of the tree. The sunlight seemed to be at just the right angle, because its golden rays bounced off some dew droplets that layered the flowers.

"Wow" Was really all I could manage. Bunny smiled. He nodded at a seemingly blank part of the ground, shaped into a perfect rectangle. I sat down.

It was surprisingly soft. The grass was so thick, you could try and stick a needle in it and not get it halfway through without breaking the needle.

"I-I know, it`s no apartment, but it`s okay for you…" Bunny nervously rubbed his paws together and stared down.

I smiled warmly at him. "It`s perfect."

I don`t know if Bunny could turn any pinker. He cleared his throat after a moment of looking at his paws. "I sleep on the other end of the Warren." He looked at me. "If you get a hunch something`s wrong, though I don`t think anything will, just come and get me, sheila."

I nodded. "`Kay, then."

Bunny smiled. I couldn`t help but lean up and lightly kiss him on the cheek. His face went blank for a moment, but then he smiled. "See ya."

"Night, Bunny."

"I`ll just be- HEYA!" He exclaimed, tripping backwards over a tree branch.

I laughed. Bunny quickly picked himself up and hopped out with a sheepish wave.

I decided to hit the sack and fall asleep. But, as soon as I sleepily closed my eyes, they were automatically opened with the thought:

_He`s a fragging rabbit. Well, he`s a fragging handsome rabbit, I`ll give him that…_

_**THE NEXT MORNING…**_

_**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/**_

I awoke and groggily rubbed my eyes. Something sounded fuzzy, but cleared up. Singing:

_There`s a bright golden haze in the meadow_

_There`s a bright golden haze on the meadow_

_The flower`s as high as an elephant`s eye_

_And it looks like it`s climbing clear up to the sky_

I was more than slightly flabbergasted when Bunny spun around, a huge grin on his face.

_Oh, what a beautiful morning_

_Oh, what a beautiful day_

_I`ve got a wonderful feeling_

_Everything`s going my way._

Bunny picked up a googie, and, armed with his paintbrush, swept a swirl of rainbows over the egg. He leaned up against a large stone egg. He whistled a note or three, and then cast his brilliant emerald eyes around the Warren with a distant, happy smile.

_All my googies are standing like statues_

_All my googie are standing like statues_

_They don`t turn around to see me hop by_

_But that one right there is just a-winking her eye_

Bunny chuckled. I wanted to go and talk to him, but I only abandoned my small personal area by about two steps before hearing Bunny resume.

_Oh, what a beautiful morning_

_Oh, what a beautiful day_

_I`ve got that wonderful feeling_

_Everything`s going my way_

His voice impressed me. I took a step closer. If this was a daily thing, I wanted to come here every.

Or possibly live here.

His amazing voice assaulted me out of my thoughts.

_All the sounds of the Earth are like music_

_All the sounds of the Earth are like music_

_The breeze is so busy, it don`t miss a tree_

_And that ol` weeping willer`s a-laughing at me_

I smiled and stepped forward. I decided to surprise him. I cleared my throat quietly, and then burst out into full song.

_Oh, what a beautiful morning_

_Oh, what a beautiful day_

_I`ve got that wonderful feeling_

_Everything`s going my way._

_Bunny`s POV_

I sat there. Her voice was melodic, beautiful, carried to all corners and sides of the Warren by the wind. I was amazed. "H-how long have you been…"

She chuckled. "The entire song. You`re great, actually. I must admit, I`m quite impressed." She smiled and patted my shoulder. "I`m gonna go for a walk, I lost my phone somewhere…"

She gave my shoulder a squeeze and smiled. I returned the gesture, but not because I was being nice, mainly because I loved the way her nose wrinkled when she laughed, or the way her eyes glittered and there was an angelic chorus whenever she walked into a room.

She brushed her hand off my shoulder and walked down to the paint river to search for her phone.

I smiled. I quietly sang.

_Oh, what a beautiful day…_

_**I love the fact Bunny is played by Hugh Jackman, who also played Wolverine. Now, I`m gonna have to make a Wolverine reference somewhere in here… Hugh Jackman also sang this song, "Oh, what a beautiful morning". I messed here with the lyrics, `cause Bunny doesn`t have wheat or cows. Fun Fact: Jackman was voted "Sexiest man alive" five times in a row. So they had to make Bunny look kind hot…**_

_**Now I`ve also got to write a chapter where he sings something from "Les Misrebels", because Jackman sings in there, too… **_

_**REVIEW!**_


	17. Nightmares

_**Okay, so I felt like doing this random Bunnymund/OC chapter in the middle of my awesome story. Okay, so it`s nighttime, and Bunny is in the Warren, and so is my OC, and she`s sleeping alllllllll the way across to the other side of Bunny`s lair…**_

_**Please enjoy.**_

_A younger Aster ran and ran. _

"_You can`t hide forever." An evil voice chuckled throughout the place Aster didn`t know he was in._

_Aster ducked behind a tree for some support, hoping to find a safe haven, just for a while._

_Their laughter sent him sprawling into the thick forest once more. _

_There was no light._

_There was no hope, though he was supposed to be._

_A ray of hope is all one needs to survive…_

_But some blackness, some horrid dark, some manipulated, treacherous nightmare cam smash out the last smidgen of that, like eternal night can seize a beautiful flower and cause it to wither and shut, forever and always gone from the face of the Earth._

_Aster stumbled, wasting no time to leave, praying to escape this corrupt, twisted vision._

"_Remember how you survived?" The voice chided. "Remember why the Man in the Moon saved you?"_

_Aster wanted to run; he had something better lying ahead of him. A hope, a feature._

_Two long, beautiful and graceful silver arms reached out to him. "Aster…" It called. He could see the outline of a female pooka. "Come, Aster."_

"_Mum…" Aster reached out, blindly. "Mum, don`t leave me alone. I`m scared."_

"_Don`t abandon hope, Aster…" The silver pooka reached out to embrace her son. "You are a symbol of what can come." _

_Aster grabbed for the warm hold of his mother, but was only met by cold, harsh darkness._

_Aster struggled against the grasp, he growled, but wasn`t able to move against the hold of the dark, seemingly invisible fingers. _

"_Don`t abandon hope, Aster." A brittle voice mocked. It then laughed. "You are a symbol of… What was she thinking?" A figure evolved through the eternal mists of the black sand. A tall, dark and gray figure._

_Aster only said one word. "Pitch."_

_Pitch pretended to gasp in shock. "He said my name. You remember." He laughed in his maniacal way. "Of course, how could he forget…?" The nightmare king approached the teenage pooka closer. "I am the one who wiped his filthy kind off the face of the Earth. You have grown, Aster."_

_Aster struggled more and more. "I know I have. Been about half a century."_

_Through his mind he saw multiple people, his kind, all as a tribe… All dying. Slowly enveloped in darkness. _

_His emerald eyes strained to not cry._

_A small whimper managed to escape him, though._

_His world stopped turning for a brief moment._

_Pitch smiled. "Ahh… Fear." He looked at Aster, who was now openly allowing his lip to tremble. "How delicious. The brave and honorable pooka is frightened. Of what? Dying."_

"_Shut up." Aster stared down, wishing he could get out. He wanted to taste the warm breeze again, feel the soft grass against his fur once more._

"_Of course, if I were the only one of my kind- oh wait." Pitch stopped in mock surprise. "I __am__ the only Pitch Black. I don`t have to worry, though, because I have a friend, one that`s also one of my kind-"_

"_SHUT UP!" Aster burst out, unable to contain it any longer. "J-just s-shut up…" _

"_Tut, tut." Pitch chuckled. "Feisty spirit in you, pooka. Shame it has to be wasted." He produced a spear and pressed it to Aster`s chest._

_Aster flinched at the cold prick of the spear. His face paled at the sensation of a single drop of red blood, staining the white, tender fur of his body._

"_No… Please…"_

"_Hold still for one moment, rabbit man, and think of all you have lost." Pitch chuckled. "Such a shame."_

_Aster looked down at the spear, tears blurring his vision. He stared up at Pitch, tears now freefalling down his face, his emerald eyes widening in panic._

"_Say good-bye." Pitch laughed that evil laugh Aster hated. _

_He ran it through Aster`s chest._

"_NOOOOOOOOO!"_

"Bunny, wake up!"

E. Aster Bunnymund grabbed onto whatever was holding him and seized it tighter.

"Bunny, it`s okay." The person that he was using for support gathered her in his arms. "I`m here, Bunny." The Irish accent soothed him. He felt someone gently kiss the top of his head. "I`m here."

Bunny opened his eyes and saw his savior from the nightmare. "Heather," he whimpered, slightly embarrassed by his actions.

"What`s wrong?" Heather looked scared, too, but not for herself, but for him.

"Pitch… and I was killed… and I was gone…" Bunny choked on a sob.

"Shhhh…" Heather hugged Bunny closer to her.

"H-how`d you…?" Bunny looked up at her, feeling only safer.

"I got up when your googies awoke me. I heard ya; you were crying and running in your sleep." Heather allowed the Easter Bunny to hug her. She ran her fingers through the fur on his head and neck gently. "Took me forever to get a hold of ya." She kissed him on the top of his head again.

Bunny cried some more. "What- what if-?"

"Shush." Heather gently demanded. She planted another peck on his head. Something deep inside of her heart warmed up. Secretly, she had wanted to hold him for a while, but not when he was crying… It made her want to cry, too.

"I`m gonna go and get Sandman, okay?" She whispered, gently and as comfortingly as she could. She stood to leave, but a large, muscular paw gripped onto her wrist.

"D-don`t leave me here, a-alone, `kay?" Bunny struggled to try and not cry.

Heather smiled; a warm, soulful look filled her eyes. This look, Bunny thought, had never existed in his world. She sat down next to him and hugged him again, quietly humming a Celtic lullaby. She cried a little bit, too.

Bunny soon fell asleep, grabbing on tightly to her.

Heather remained awake and sitting there, holding him and kissing his head, softly singing.

Sandy flew in, sensing something had happened. He blinked, slightly bewildered at the scene that was unfolded before him.

Heather looked up, her eyes slightly damp. She loosened her grip on the large rabbit and she smiled sleepily.

Sandy motioned her to go on and leave.

Heather affectionately kissed Bunny`s nose, much to the Sandman`s shock. She finally rose up and started out. "Take good care of him, okay?"

Sandy, not quite sure what to think, nodded.

Heather smiled. "Thank ya." She stretched, allowing more than one joint to pop, and walked out.

Sandy blew some good thoughts to the Australian pooka, and then set off to go spread more blessed, wonderful dreams.

But he didn`t see that from afar, two dark figures watched…

_***YAWN* This is possibly one of my favorite chapters… I write well when I`m tired… Please, review, tell me what you`d like to see more of in this story. Honestly, otherwise this`ll be a really short story.**_

_**Thanks.**_

_** ~TripleThreat2**_


	18. Training the Defender

_**Okay, I haven't updated in a while… Blame homework. And sleep. And gravity. OoooOH! I gots me a new Monoprice drawing tablet! (His name is Ricky, and my stylus` name is… Well, I don`t got that yet.) Next, I need a Devianart and a BlogSpot.**_

_**Oh, did I forget the- OH CRUD I DO NOT OWN RISE OF THE GUARDIANS BUT I WISH I DID I`D BE A FREAKING GENIUS GYAAAAAHHH!**_

_**Now, THE STORY!**_

_Bunny`s POV_

I sat up and sleepily rubbed my eyes. After yawning, I arose and smiled. _Oh, where`s Heather?_

I suddenly went into full bunny-pooka-panic mode. "Holy crow…" I bounded out of my large tree-dome-room-type-thing and stopped sharply, because the girl I was looking for was sitting in front of me, facing my violet paint river, quietly humming and, on occasion, vocalizing. She paused and glanced at me.

"Oh, hiya, sleeping beauty." She chuckled. She pulled herself up with her hands and smiled, showing off pure white chompers. "Finally up, are ye?" She brushed her hands off with each other, and then rubbed the front of her jeans with her still slightly damp hands; leaving only a slightly darker stain along the area of the points she dried her hands off.

I grinned and was about to come up with a smart retort, but we were completely interrupted by North. "Bunny-" He started, then caught sight of our Defender standing along the sidelines. "Heather, what are you here for?"

"Oh…" She gestured with her right arm around the Warren grandly, then flopped both of her arms by her side, smiling sheepishly. "I came to ask, now that I`m… a Defender," Her heavy accent only stumbled slightly along the excuse, "Um, what am I supposed to do…? I mean, what is my actual job?"

"You defend us, Defender." North blinked, as if it was the most obvious thing to everyone, Spock and people alike. "Hence, name-" He spread out his hands, as if holding something invisible- "_Defender_."

"I know, but, in the mean time…" Heather shrugged.

North`s face went totally blank. Then it went in a sequence. A bloody funny one, I`ll grant him that. Then it slowly morphed.

Blank. Blank. Thoughtful. Thinking. Einstein. Genius. Tintin. Sherlock Holmes. Happy, then ecstatic and some exuberant joy. "But of course!" He boomed, overly cheerful, collapsing his _Nice_ arm over Heather`s shoulders. "We train for battle, yes!"

_Heather`s POV_

_What in the name of the mother of John Paul Jones did I get myself into? _My brain was questioning as my shoulders vibrated in pain of getting frozen, butchered, bruised, banged, blistered, punched, poked, prodded, cut, sliced, whipped while slightly frozen, whipped, numbed, swollen, clawed and shanked by various weapons. (FYI, staff, yeti mood swinger, bows, arrows, swords, fists, fingernails, whips, boomerangs, ice, and swords and spears and knifes and scythes… ect, ect…)

"I need some arm guards or something," I panted, allowing myself to take a breath of precious air and willingly dropped my arms by my side.

North tapped on my already pained shoulders with a flat end of his sword, causing me to grimace and wince. "When fighting, you will not get second chance. Is now or never, death or defeat." Bunnymund rolled his eyes at North, and had a slight hint of worry in those fantastic green eyes- for _me…_? Tooth was whispering to her minifaries excitedly, gesturing at her feet and my feet and using her hands to express size. Sandy looked concerned, and Jack was playing Poker with Cupid.

I sighed. "Can I at least get a different weapon?" I tiredly waved my axe (it reminded me vaguely of _THOR…)_ two feet above my waist, then gave up and dropped my arm, fingers loosening their grip in the heavy weapon.

"_Neyt_, you handle that." North placed his swords on a table and crossed his arms. "Again."

Holding back a groan of frustration that would possibly turn me into the Hulk, I swung my axe at the yeti fighting me (Yaloo, I believe…?) and narrowly avoided a huge swing from his Yeti mood swinger.

_This is gonna be a long afternoon…_

_**Only sixteen minutes later… (Still in the workshop.)**_

My shoulders were begging for a break, and I commented this to Tooth, whom I was training with.

She smiled. "Oh, good." She snapped her fingers and several little (but TOTALLY ADORABLE!3) hummingbird-things flew over with a covered tray.

My hopes lifted. "Food?" To be honest, I hadn`t eaten breakfast and I was about to starve to death… It was two hours past twelve.

Tooth chuckled at my expression and what I prayed for under the cover sheet. (I was possibly drooling, but I`m not that kind of person. Oh, and my eyes felt crossed… That possibly added to the laugh.) "No," She motioned the hummingbird-person-thingamajigies of cuteness. "It`s…" She paused dramatically, only succeeding in adding to my tension. "… This."

She yanked off the sheet, and my prayers crashed. Hopes twisted in a traumatizing fashion, and my brain was about to explode like an A-Bomb.

Bunny whistled a low note teasingly. Jack and Cupid snickered. North and Sandman swapped expressions, confused and shocked alike. Tooth clasped her delicate feathered hands together happily, waiting my expression. Here it was:

"Oh no." I slowly backed away from the green, Ellie-821, eight-inch high heels. "You. Are. Fragging. Kidding."

Tooth shook her head. "I`m not kidding." Tooth waved at them. "Plus," She held them up in one hand and gestured he fingers at in with the other, her brilliantly colored feathers a blur. "They`re your color!"

"No." I crossed my arms stubbornly.

"Yes." Tooth glared.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes.

"NO!"

Tooth sighed and set down the shoes. "Heather, Joan of Arc had to fight in a _nun`s dress_. That was hard, and she didn`t complain."

"Well, she had armor in battle." I flatly said. The males all laughed at our quarrel, except for Sandy, which was pitiful, because he couldn`t utter a sound. (Men! They never get women, especially when it involves shoes. Or clothes, or sports, or jobs, or kids, or schedules or… anything.)

"Yes, but she was prepared."

"So?"

"So," Tooth held out the shoes. "What if you`re undercover or whatever, and you`re wearing _these_?" She lifted the tools of the Devil higher.

I blinked. "Okay, I see some problems in your point. One: I`m not a secret agent, or spy, or whatever. Two: I don`t have an outfit to match those and three: I would never wear those!"

Tooth sighed. Then, she muttered: "This is gonna be a loooong afternoon."

_My point exactly!_ Was my personal thought, but lack of food and total starvation kept me from saying that smart comment.

_**An hour later, after eating…**_

I stood, watching Jack and Cupid rummaging through various trunks, magical so they were endless and light. "Okay," Jack looked for a second at a random old smoothie maker and chucked it over his shoulder.

"Oi!" Cupid narrowly avoided the old blender, dodging it by a hair`s breadth. "That almost killed me!"

"Or, just hit you in the face." Jack rolled his eyes. After a brief argument between the cousins, I sighed. "Ladies, you`re both pretty. What am I here for?"

Jack looked slightly insulted, but Cupid smiled and stopped rummaging through the trunk. "Well, that`s just it. If you look different than people expect you to look, the battle`s half won."

Jack yanked out a red dress. It would`ve fit rather snugly on me, and it was all… sparkly.

"Hey-y!" Bunny leaned forward. "I like that dress."

Jack smirked. "Why don`t you try it?"

"Why you little-" Bunny started, but I interrupted.

"I`m not wearing that, either." I glared.

"Why not?" Cupid`s face fell.

I sighed. "I don`t like-" I gestured at the outfit. "_That_. I hate tight clothes. They`re hot!"

Jack nodded. "Yeah. If you`re short or attractive, they`ll underestimate you. So…" Jack gently tugged the dress out of his younger cousin`s hand. He tossed it at me, and I snatched it and bundled it up. "You gotta look hot."

"Oh, no." I defiantly threw the dress back at him and it hung over his white hair like a limp sack. "I am not wearing that- that-" I fumbled for words. "Constricted, unyielding rug!"

Jack sighed and looked at Cupid. Cupid shrugged. Jack followed suit.

Bunny messed with his boomerang. "Put on the dress." He picked up the dress and tossed it to me.

"No." I threw it back, starting a volleyball war, the dress playing the role of the spheroid to throw. (AKA, the ball.)

"Wear the bloody dress."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"NO!"

"YES!"

"Yes."

"No."

"HA!" I cheered, pumping a victorious fist in the air.

"Wait, what?" Bunny went over the conversation in his pooka mind.

_Jack`s POV_

_Yep, this is gonna be a long afternoon…_

_**Sorry for this boring chapter, But I wanted to extend this story. So, if I just put her through the training and end the story, TA-DA! The story is over. Gone. Finite. End. Done.**_

_**So, I`m gonna ask you: Do you have any ideas? If so, I`d like to hear them. (I might even write a chapter with you, the reader, in it.)**_

_**Please… Think of the children… THANKS! Review, and send to your friends!**_

_**Love ya, TripleThreat2**_


	19. Suspected and suspension

_**So, yeah, I got a new Monoprice tablet… I just need the right program to draw on it… so, all you drawing tablet owners out there, PLEASE HELP ME!**_

_**I also drew the new cover/title picture-thingy-mcdoohickey… It`s terrible, I know, I need to re-do it…**_

_**Now, our regularly scheduled program. **___

_Morgan`s POV_

"Ohmigosh!" I felt like throwing a tiny fit, Heather wouldn`t answer her phone. "Maybe her mom will answer… OHEMGEE HEATHER!"

Right then, she magically walked in. I pounced on her in a hug. "How are you, where have you been, your mom wanted to know where you where, this is, like, the eighty millionth time in a row you`ve gone missing without telling me. Are you avoiding me?"

"What?" Heather looked surprised. "Goodness, no! I just got a little…" She tenderly touched her shoulder.

My mouth dropped. "Oh, lemme see!" I eagerly reached out to see a little world of bruises and scrapes living right there, on her shoulder. My mouth had gone from hanging to dangling two inches above the floor, agape. "Oh. My. Gosh. Who did this to you?" I smacked my fist. 'I`m going to have a talk with them! Then, I`m gonna hang their head on my wall!" I grabbed my purse and started for the door.

"Whoa, whoa, steady girl." Heather bounded in front of the door five times faster than I`d ever seen her bound anywhere.

I stood straighter. "I am the Queen."

My Irish friend rolled her eyes. "No you`re not. I got these in a playful little…" She seemed to be pulling words from the air. "Fight. Yeah, he fought-"

"HE! What was 'he' trying to do to you?!" I nearly screeched.

"Oh, nothing like that!" She looked revolted. "It was martial arts! He was trying to teach me some new moves with all these different weapons."

"It looks like you got banged up by a group of yetis or bigfeets!" I blew up.

She gave a feeble laugh.

"Ha-ha, funny," She smiled weakly. "Well, I need to run. Bye." She quickly galloped out the door.

Was something wrong? I grabbed my phone.

I dialed a number. "Hey, Lartin? Me, Morgan. I`m worried about Heather, you should check up on her every now and then… Thanks."

_Somewhere, a land slightly farther away…_

_And by slightly, we mean about… Liskeard, England…_

"Father, is everything ready?" The blonde boy put up his phone.

"Has her friend called yet?"

"Yes, sir." The boy placed a domino, standing up perfectly, atop another.

"Excellent." The older man leaned back in his chair, his muscular fingers forming a temple. "Has she called?"

"No, sir." The teenager, glum, looked at his shoes, taking care to not drop a spotted domino.

"Well, patience."

It was a moment before the blonde boy spoke again. "Father?"

A short and to-the-point _Hmmmm _came as a reply.

Taking it as a yes, the teen spoke his mind. "Well, just because she`s Irish, aren`t we taking it a bit far with this…? I mean, Father, I like her, a lot…" His hands stopped messing with his rectangular tools of entertainment.

The intimidating man slowly twisted his chair so he could face his offspring. "Why not. She is the old terrorist`s daughter, anyhow." He raised a hand as if to object something his son was going to say. "All O`Shonas must die, unless they stumble into their mess of a family unknowingly."

"But, father-"

"No more buts!" His father barked, beefy right fist pounding on the table. "We will get her, and use all the forces of us Davis` against those beasts!"

He picked up a picture of a small child, green eyes bright and red hair long. "And this time…" He flexed his fist, crushing the picture. "You won`t get away from me little brat."

All the dominos shivered from the impact of another fist, and clattered to the floor and landed on their face or back. All except a green one, which this tumbled once and landed straight, still standing.

_**Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuunnn! Well, sorry about the short chapter, but thank you for all the ideas so far, and I`m very open to more. Please, submit them to me in the form of a PM or Review. (Preferably, a review.)**_

_**So, summary: Vote on my poll, help me with my new Monoprice tablet, review, and I need to redraw this new that horrid title picture.**_

_**Love ya! ;)**_


	20. A sheild

_**Anyways, next chapter!**_

_**Bunnymund`s Girlfriend- Thanks for loving this story! I love it to! (And yes, Bunny ROCKS.)**_

_**Maddie (Guest)- I`ll be the preacher at that wedding. ; You really jinxed that stuff in the middle of class? O_O**_

_**Rylanwaterbender- No Skillet references.**_

_**Anony mouse101- Oh gosh, are you okay over there? **_

_**No, while I`m reviving the knocked-out Anony mouse101, please enjoy this chapter.**_

_Heather`s POV_

Though I was a teenager, I still had to follow my mother`s rules.

And that was to clean my room.

Yes, I know it sounds childish and everything, but she was my mother…

Though I never was very close to her, she still had the authority over me all mothers have over their children. My room was pretty clean, but she meant… scrubbing it down with Pledge and stuff.

Ah.

Well, that was over, and I was up in the attic, but I found…

What in the name of Saint Patrick…?

An old shield. Why was it in the attic?

It was green, with two golden designs that resembled lilies, and a long sword with a crown. Wow, that seemed familiar from history class.

A blur of motions, and a vision started.

_**I know, that was short, but my schedule`s a little cramped.**_

_**Oo and I GOT A BLOG! Go check it out:**_

_**Be sure to go look at it. Review, and enjoy!**_


	21. Know me as Joan, Nun of God

_**I fell into a creek earlier today. = (So, I took a shower, now I`m better.**_

_**BEFORE WE GO ANY FURTHER AND YOU MAKE SOME SORTA CRAZY DECISION ABOUT MY RELIGIOUS VIEWS, I AM A CHRISTIAN AND I LOVE GOD SO DON`T JUDGE ME ON THIS CHAPTER!**_

_**I tried to catch in all the religious elements a nun has and stuff. (I`m not a nun.)**_

_**Enjoy this story! =**_

_Joanne `de Arc`s POV_

I kneeled before a large altar, praying, still wearing my nun uniform, though it was blistering with the fire blazing across the room and some candles, heat seeping through the heavy cloth. "Dear Heavenly Father, show me a way… Light my destiny, show me my path…"

I felt, all of a sudden, a strange… calling. _My path? My destiny?_

"_Go outside, Joanne." _It was saying.

I arose, my mind ignoring the warmth of the summer night and sparks of fire lit around me. _Outside…?_

Carefully cradling a portion of my skirt in my hand, and walking past many pews and alters and stained glass windows, that had always held a type of security for me, was currently worthless. I had to listen to the voice… an Angel?

The voice I heard was certainly angelic. A deep, male voice that was surprisingly melodic in an accent I didn`t quite recognize. It sounded a bit like the accents the British, but a little more… country. What was it? A saint, and angel, God himself…?

I snuck outside, careful not to wake the Father priest. Outside, in the courtyard, there was more moonlight than usual. Only this moonlight was different. When it touched the flowers or fruit trees, they blossomed. I prodded one of the flowers, and they only opened wider.

I smiled a real and true smile.

That was almost rare for me.

After viewing past the flowers, I peered through the mysterious light and caught a glimpse of several people. A young girl, an older man about twenty (Cossack, perhaps…?), A warrior-like female, a short male, an older man with a long white beard, and a tall rabbit that was at least seven feet tall, including the ears.

Well, if this was my destiny, it would be rather amazing.

I looked up as the oldest man walked over, taking his staff in a tight grip.

I kneeled down on one knee, using the other one to support my arm. "Oh sir," I put my hands on the ground, palms gathering moisture from the damp grass. "If you are the one to show me my destiny, sir, I can only be so humble to offer my sword and shield."

The man with the white beard touched me on my shoulder with his hand. "Joan, no need to talk or bow that way," He gently pulled me up. "In fact, it is _us_ who are coming to _you. _The fact is, we need your help."

I felt better, with blood rushing back to my legs and feet. I examined them all, getting a better look at them. "Who are you?" I asked.

"I am Ombric Shalazar. That is Nicholas St. North, Katherine, Toothania, the Sandman, and E. Aster Bunnymund." Ombric pointed to each individual person.

Nicholas St. North was rather dapper, with a goatee and brown eyes. He was carrying a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other. Katherine was a young girl, ten years at the least, with dark hair and bright eyes. She was holding a thick book, wearing a thick coat and had a dagger hanging on her belt. Toothania was holding two sharp slightly curved swords and clad in colorful feathers. The tall rabbit, E. Aster Bunnymund, he was brown (Though I caught sight of several gray hairs with a blueish tinge), wearing a large green robe with egg shaped pockets, and wearing green egg-shaped spectacles on his face. His weapon of choice was a long staff with an egg shaped relic set on the tip of it. He was rather egg- centric.

I realized they all were carrying weapons. Were they a group of warriors?

"If it involves war," I spoke before anyone else could. "I would rather not be a part of it; I am just a nun of God."

Aster leaned on his staff. "Indeed, but before you have any objections, we know God`s calling on you. And, as my friend said before, we need your help."

That voice… The accent he had… The same I had heard before.

"You told me to come out here, _Mon Amie._" I suddenly allowed the words to spill out of my mouth.

Aster smiled. "Well, yes, I used my Pooka mind meld technique."

I shook my head. "Isn`t a pooka a shape-shifting Irish goblin…?"

"No." Aster sighed. "'Tis, yet I am a different type of pooka."

Before I could question, Nicholas St. North stepped forward. "Listen, nun, your called duty is not that bloody. It will involve breaking arms and legs, but not much slaying."

"North!" Toothania hissed, punching him in the arm.

_E. Aster Bunnymund`s view, therefore switching us to Bunny`s view at the end of this chapter._

_She`s a very small woman, _I pondered on myself. Could this truly be the woman, the one to assist us in destroying Pitch and Plague, little by little?

The way I might put her in words, she was a very small woman (about five foot three, I suppose), had a rather sweet, low, pretty and persuasive voice lined with a French accent, she was also, despite her delicacy, looked thin. As logic would say, as a nun, she fasted a lot. She wasn`t a stunning beauty, but applied in a run for good-looking. (Her eyes were a little far apart.)

I couldn`t make out her hair color or ears whatsoever, for they were obscured by her nun hat, though I could see she had a somewhat dark complexion.

The nun shook her head. "No, thank you. I prefer peaceful solutions, but I`ll help in some other way."

North possibly would`ve gnashed his teeth like a rabid… well, North. He isn`t quite like a dog.

What exactly is it with humans? I didn`t get it, either, for they are so reckless, so _human_.

Ombric straightened and looked at the young nun. "If you can`t help, no one can. Thousands will die. Children, women, men, fathers, newborns, mothers. There will not be someone who didn`t suffer the loss of a loved one."

A look of consideration crossed her face.

"If they die, it will only get worse. There will be no upside." Ombric pressed. "We didn`t arrange this," He said, hitting her religious side. "He did." Ombric raise a thin but firm index finger at the sky.

Joan stared down at her folded hands, and then looked back at all of us. "What must I do?"

_Back to the present times, Bunny`s POV…_

My head shot up. "She had her first vision."

North`s head came up like a rocket, too, as did all in the Warren.

"_Da_," North muttered, stroking his chin. "She is getting closer…"

_**I AM SO EEEEEEEVIL. MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!**_

_**SORRY ABOUT ALLOWING THIS STORY TO COLLECT DUST. IT TOOK ME FOUR DAYS TO WRITE IT, IN BETWEEN ALL THE HOMEWORK I GOT FROM MY MATH TEACHER.**_

_**SO… YEAH A LOT OF HOMEWORK.**_

_**AND I HAVE SOME FROM MY HISTORY TEACHER, SO I MUST PROCEED TO DO THAT!**_

_**Fact: Joan of Arc wasn`t actually light-headed and all warrior like, as you see in the movies. (I should know, without her, she wouldn't have defended my lots-of-greats-just-to-save-some-time grandfather, the king of France!)**_

_**DON`T FORGET TO REVIEW!**_

_**I love hearing suggestions on this story, and this is going to be a veeeeeery short story if we can`t all pour in ideas.**_

_**So…. Any ideas, comments, criticism, complements, opinions, facts, suggestions, if you`re gonna favorite/follow the story, or anything else…**_

_**PLEASEPLEASEPLEASPLEASEPLEAS EPLEASEPLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEEAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSS LEAVE A COMMENT!**_

_**I shall go now. (Look at my blog: .com if you wanna see my art! I might eventually storyboard this stuff. Who`d like that? I WOULD!)**_

_**Bless your face, and if you sneeze during this, bless you.**_


	22. I hit a celerbity on the head with a bat

_**Sorry about disappearing off the face of the world. Well, here we go. **_

_Heather`s POV_

I groaned and sat on my bed. _What on Earth happened to me? And why are all the lights out?_

I heard a sudden moan. _HOLY COW, THE APOCOLYPSE?! _

I grabbed a wooden softball bat I kept by my bed, used my shield to cover myself, and started beating whatever was there.

"OW! OW! RIMSKEY-KORSOKOV!" A thick Russian accent shouted loudly.

"North?" I stopped whapping the Russian and blinked, adjusting my eyes to the dark.

"_Nyet, _I am North`s son." The figure, with a hand on his head stood up. "Marcus Claus."

Two things came to mind:

One: _Holy cow, THE Marcus Claus is here?_

Two: _HOLY COW, WHAT IS HE DOING IN MY ROOM?!_

And, yeah, that`s pretty much what I said.

"HOLY COW, WHAT IS THE MARCUS CLAUS DOING IN MY ROOM?" I raised my bat once more. Famous musician or no, I wanted to know, or else _someone _would be at the hospital.

"Papa told me to come get you."

"Oh." I set down the bat and shield. Just as I set down the Medieval- looking sheet of metal, Marcus leaned down and picked it up.

"I see you found it," He casually commented, as if saying he`d like a lump of sugar in his tea.

"Huh?"

He walked over to the light switch and turned it on. I blinked fast, wondering when my light got to be so bright. He looked at the shield.

"It is time."

And…

That`s all I could remember before feeling like my insides were dissolving, and going to a previous place I had been before.

_**I CANNOT SAY THIS ENOUGH:**_

_**REVIEWS, IDEAS, CHEESE, FAVORITES, COMMENTS, SHARE WITH OTHERS, WAFFLE BUG, SHARE THIS STORY WITH YOUR FRIENDS, REVIEW, FOLLOW AND IDEAS!**_

_**If anyone wants Heather, Sophie, Morgan, Lartin, Bunny, North, Marcus, Tooth, ect, ect, ect… to do something, tell me, and I will gladly put that in here.**_

_**Sorry about the bluntness, but I love you all and must go!**_

_**BYE!**_


	23. If thats how you feel

_**Sorry about the delay, my little brother has been hogging the laptop. Which is why there might be longer waits, because I`m gonna sit and type longer chapters, no matter how much they bore ya.**_

_**BUT FIRST! My thanks to…**_

_**Rylanwaterbender- thanks, sis, for sitting there and listening to my plans and rambling on forever to my ideas and junk.**_

_**Not Bad (Guest) - When I`m invisible, I`m a freaking' NINJA! ;)**_

_**Watch Out (Guest) - Ummm, Cheese?**_

_**Falcrow-42- 42 is the answer to all life. I really think she like to be barefoot, and… do I need to guess the upside-down thing, or… is it… like, something… -_-**_

_** - Yes, my friend, you get a prize! DING DING DING!**_

_**Anony mouse 101- That might possibly happen soon… ;) (Evil smile) Just for fun, the word "Pooka" is nowhere in the Australian language. Yeah. They`re Celtic. They mean "Demon" or "Goblin". So, my fluffy Bunny friend, you are truly Irish, not Aussie. Thanks sooooo much, amigo!**_

_**TheJoyousCrosser- You don`t know how every morning, I wake up and pray you`ll get inspiration for your writing. I LOVE YOU LOVELY WORDS ON THIS LOVERLEY COMPUTER!(Hugs computer) If you like did something about, like…Heather, (Shuffles feet nervously), you have all means if you are stooped on all hope or at a dead end. I mean, that should help… LOVE YOU! (As a friend)**_

_**Scourges girl- Not immediately, but soon. I want it to kind of evolve, not whap them with a brick. =) That would be fun, though… hitting people with bricks…**_

_**Now, TO THE STORY!**_

_**(Warning, this chapter might draw tears. You might hate me after you read this, but it all gets solved in the next chapter.)**_

_Heather`s POV_

"Heather, Heather!" A little blonde girl and her brunette brother, as well as his friends, were all waiting for me.

"Sophie? How did you get here?!" I kneeled down, looking at her.

Jamie answered for his little sister, who was hopping around as if she would burst from a storm of pure joy that suddenly overtook her. "North and Bunny bought us here." He said.

Sophie suddenly stopped dancing and turned to cast her big, bright green eyes on my, as if trying to make me feel guilty. (And aye, it was working.) "You didn`t come help me find eggs," She stuck out her lower lip into what she called a _Pouty- face_. "Why didn`t you help me find Bun- Bun`s eggs?"

"Well," I heaved out a breath as I picked her up. "It`s a long story, Sophie."

She blinked at me. "Why?"

"Why what, Sophie?"

"Why is it a long story?" She questioned.

Trust anyone under four years old to make you think. So I said what any mature person could say.

"Because it is wee lamb." I chuckled, tickling her.

All stubborn thoughts seemed to disappear from her as she squealed happily.

North poked his head into the room. "Ah, there you are. I-"

I interrupted. "You`ve got some explaining to do, sir."

North looked at me, as if sizing me up to see if I was ready. "_Da_, I seem to."  
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"A long time ago, as you saw in vision…" North began. I cut in quickly.

"Was that group of people you guys?" I pointed at the group of Guardians, my voice more shrill than it should`ve been, making my accent rather unattractive.

North raised his hand in what I suspected was forced patience. I shut up. "That and more will come up in a minute. Now shut up or I will take you to insane asylum."

I shut up.

"Now, back when knights were police and thieves were hung, nuns were very religious."

"Yes, I heard Joan said she`d rather carry the flag and not the sword." I waved to show I already had that knowledge.

North looked at me and raised his white eyebrows.

I shut up.

North nodded. "Good. Allow me to continue?"

I nodded.

"Excellent. Well, Joan wasn`t a warrior at first, but she evolved into one."

"Soooo…" I looked at the Guardians. This would be a fast change in subject, but I had to know. "She didn`t willingly jump to it, but you bribed her."

"Well, not exactly-" Bunny started, but North raised his beefy arm and stopped him.

"_Nyet_, Bunny. We must be honest." North sighed.

Then, he said something that broke my heart.

"_Da_. We convinced her to join, but if not for her-"

"No!" I jumped up from sitting in the fluffy armchair. "If not for _you_, she would`ve lived! She could`ve gone on with her life! She- she could`ve been the best nun of her time! And she died for some lost cause, some sort of persecution for wearing armor! She was burned to death! She didn't live the life she wanted when she was younger!"

I looked at the others. Marcus looked surprisingly calm, Tooth`s eyes were wide in shock, North shared his son`s expression (With a bit of hurt), Jack and Cupid were both shocked, and Bunny`s green eyes appeared to be filling with tears. Sandy looked ready to cry, his eyes were already watering over. I looked at my audience, feeling a ball of guilt wield up inside me.

"I`m going home. This is too harsh. Just too harsh." I looked down at my hands.

Tooth started to talk, but Bunny jumped in. "Yeah, well, you were getting in the way. We don`t need you, we can handle ourselves!" Bunny`s voice cracked at the end of that sentence.

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"You know, maybe you were better off in the desert! I should've left you there for the crows!" Bunny`s voice, his cruel voice seemed forced.

None of the less, I felt something inside of me… rip. I chomped hard on my lower lip, drawing blood.

"Yeah?" I looked at my feet. "If that`s how you feel, I reckon I`ll..." I swallowed. A cruel mix of blood and saliva almost choked me. "I reckon I`ll get out of your way."

Then… I left.

I didn`t know, though, some thoughts would drive me back to them.

_**Yeah, this chapter was depressing, and you hate me now. It gets happier, then sadder, then happier. So, just bear with me.**_

_**If you have any OCs you want me to add, don`t be shy and send 'em in! I`ll be more than glad to add them. Same thing with ideas. Send them in! In the next chapter, I might add you, the reader.**_

_**Peace off! Review and share with your friends!**_


	24. Pass all blame to the Pooka

_**Special shout-outs:**_

_**Anony Mouse101: THANK YOU I SEND VIRTUAL HUG!**_

_**Rylanwaterbender: It gets better, I promise.**_

_**Rosefur of Thunderclan: I agree, a little harsh, but I am a bit of a harsh person. Thanks!**_

_**HieiXKagome666: I like your name. :) This chapter is for you.**_

_**NOW READ, LITTLE ONES! REEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAD!**_

_**(And, just for fun, YOU/YOUR OCs are going to be in this story! YAYEEEEE!)**_

_Jack Frost`s POV_

"E. ASTER BUNNYMUND," Tooth almost shouted.

Bunny was still glaring at the door, but I could tell he was trying not to cry- Anger covers up tears pretty well.

**(A NAME GOES HERE)** walked in. "Uh, am I interrupting anything?" **(HE/SHE)** held up both hands defensively.

"No," Bunnymund pulled his gaze away from the door and stared at the floor. "No, you`re not."

Cupid flew behind **(NAME), **her wings silent. Then, Cupid leaned down to **(HIS/HER)** ear and whispered so the pooka couldn`t hear. "He shouted very angrily at our defender. She left, just now."

**(NAME)** gasped. "But why…?"

Jamie looked up. "Heather said that she was upset about what happened to the previous Defender. She said that Defender got burned at the stake."

"Is Heather gonna get burned at the stake, Bun-Bun?" Sophie looked up, her green eyes filling with tears.

_Why does she look like Emma?_ My mind heaved under the weight of that painful thought.

**(NAME)** glanced at me, worried. Ever since the moment I had thrown a snowflake at them, they had seen me, and been one of my very closest friends. **(OR IF YOU FROST GIRLS PREFER, CRUSH!)**

Bunny smiled sadly at Sophie. "Naw, she`s just being a stubborn female."

"Oh. Okay!" Sophie went back to joyously coloring picture she had just drawn.

**(NAME)** walked over and kneeled down. "What'cha got there, little rabbit?"

Sophie smiled, showing off where she had lost her first tooth. "It`s a surprise," She said as if that cleared everything up.

"Ah," **(NAME)** stood up and chuckled. "Alright."

Tooth was still glaring at Bunny. "Bunny, how could you do that…?"

"I wanted her to be safe, that`s all!"

_I wanted Emma to be safe, that`s all…_

I felt very emotional, but I was fabulous at covering most of it up.

"How would her being safe mean shouting at her and telling her we didn`t need her?!" Tooth said, her purple eyes welling up in angry tears. "SHE WAS ACUTALLY MY FRIEND!"

One of the minifaries wailed.

"'CAUSE SHE WOULD`VE WOUND UP IN SOMETHIN` TOO BIG FOR ANY OF US TO CONTROL! SHE WOULD`VE DIED LIKE JOAN!" Bunny`s paws clenched and unclenched, his face redder than it should`ve been.

Tooth seethed angrily. "WE CAN FIX THINGS! WE CAN CHANGE THINGS!"

"Oh, yeah?" Bunny`s voice got soft. "What about Boston? What about Sandy Hook? And what about Nine-Eleven? What about the Balloon Bombs in World War 2? What about-"

"Oh, Bunny, stop!" Tooth shouted, tears flowing freely. Her delicate feathered hands collapsed and rested on her face and she heaved a sob.

"Roo, shut up." I said, a glare fixing in my icy blue eyes.

Marcus reached over to Tooth and held her in his arms, but didn`t say anything of comfort.

**(NAME) **and I glanced at each other. Tears were also in **(NAME)**'s eyes. "Jack…"

Cupid glared at Bunny. "You need to learn to keep you big mouth shut sometimes." With a final stare of her purple-pink eyes, she flapped her powerful wings and got the heck out of there.

"Bye, cuz," I shouted. It seemed right at the moment.

We all left, and I heard Bunny fall to his knees. "What have I done?"

_Bunny`s POV_

_What have I done…?_

_I couldn`t help it… I wanted to protect her._

_Harshly? C`mon, mate. Just because of that stupid nightmare…_

_Wait. Why am I worried? She`s gone. No need for her to get in danger._

_I`m not worried…_

_But I should at least apologize._

I stood up.

"Phil?" I called softly into the workshop.

"Blughumglorph?" Phil popped his head out of a room that was as cold as a freezer.

"I need a potion."

_**AWWWWWWW YEAH! I AM OPEN TO REVIEWS, COMMENTS, SUGGESTIONS, OCs TO USE, BLAH BLAH BLAH YOU KNOW THE REST.**_

_**REVIEWS! I LOVE THOSE THINGS, AND IF YOU ARE READING THIS, SCROLL DOWN A LITTLE FARTHER AND WRITE SOMETHING IN THE BOX AND CLICK THE LITTLE COMMENT BUTTON! IT WILL GRANT YOU HAPPINESS AND RAINBOWS AND MONEY!**_

_**(Well, not money… how about unicorns?)**_

_**Thanks! Love ya!**_

_** ~TT2**_


	25. Coffee and Potion

_**HuntressofArtemis192- MWAHAHAHAHAAAAAA...**_

_**nekolover3 (Guest)- Awwwww, thanks! And, HECK YEAH!... Kind of... ;)**_

_**Riley-Hell's-Princess_- You will get your unicorns! XD**_

_**RosefurofThunderclan- For now, your OC has a good job in here. I hope you like how I describe her. The potion... You'll see... (Grins evilly.) Raven belongs to HER you guys, not me!**_

_**Anony mouse 101- LOVE YA, PAL! Come here and lemme give you a big hug! Iris Penbird is hers, too!**_

_**RylanWaterbender- 'Cause I'm evil... I`M EVIL FOR EXTRA CREEEDIIIIIT!**_

_**Now, TO THE STORIES!**_

_Heather's POV_

I felt horrible. Every time I tried to close my eyes, I saw emerald eyes and an image of a creepy looking m,an grabbing at my arms, trying to take... my soul?

I sat up and looked at the clock. _5:42_ was there, as loud at the day.

I drifted in and out of sleep for ten minutes or so, until I made a decision.

I needed some coffee.

_**()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()() ()()()()()()()()()()()()/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\**_

_"Welcome to Moonbucks, what will you have today?"_ A female voice droned over the order-drive-through-thingy-which-I-have-never-both ered-to-look-up-what-it-is-called-because-I`m-too-lazy... thingy.

I moaned and leaned back against the soft material of the seat of my old 1996 Buick. "What do ya have that will erase a relationship of a doomed girl and a stubborn man who never bothers to consider his accent and looks kinda like a kangaroo and another guy who is after you but you don't like and are torn between two different worlds of relationships, one you want and one you don't want?"

The voice kinda laughed_. "How about a peppermint mocha twist?"_

"Excellent, Give me the largest one possible, I'm gonna need it." I started to drive to the front, but slowly backed up.

"Is it, like, sweet? And wake me up in time for school?"

_"We can add a shot of espresso. And sugar. And cream."_

I smiled tiredly. "Great. And can we do the whipped cream thingy...?"

_"$3.16."_

"Thanks." I sighed and drove to the order/pick up window.

I stared and poked at the bags under my eyes in my rear-view mirror. "When did I become thirty years older?" I questioned miserably to myself as I stopped my car.

"Wow, nice wheels." The girl at the drive through window smirked.

"Yeah, thanks." I almost literally had to stand up to reach up and grab my drink.

The girl handed over my change. "So, guys giving you that much trouble?"

I hummed a musical _mmmmhmm_. "You ever try to help a guy with, I don't know, saving the world or something, and he shouts at you to get out of his way in his accent?"

The girl blinked her green- no, blue- no, one of each color eyes! How odd... but it looked cool anyhow. She cheerily brushed her black hair and silver tipped bangs out of her right green eye. "Even though he looks like a kangaroo?"

"Yep."

The girl chuckled again. "I've always thought true love finds a way. Even though I'm not a mushy person."

I sighed. "Well, anyways, thanks."

"Sure thing. Wait- you going to school or college?" The girl raised the eyebrow above her left blue eye.

"I'm headed to Yanks College." I pointed in the general direction I wasn't entirely and positively sure it was, but still.

The girl grinned. "Great." She nodded at my car. "Could you give me a lift there? I'm sick of the bus."

I wasn't feeling generous, but I smiled as cheerily as my sleepy face muscles could allow and patted the passenger seat. "Sure. I'll drive around the front."

"That would be awesome. Thanks."

I drove to the front, and not even five seconds after, the girl ran out, putting a black jacket on over a black tank top, black yoga pants, and a silver metal looking strap making one shoulder look more muscular than the other. her black combat boots with steel metal tips hit the ground with heavy tapping.

In summary, her style was _possibly_ post-Apocalyptic. Morgan wouldn't like this chick.

"I really owe ya one," The girl jumped in, minding to not stab the floor.

I smiled without my teeth showing. "Yeah. You're welcome."

"Whoa, what is this, a 97?"

"96."

Her jaw dropped, getting a real chuckle from me. "I'm, like, sooooo jealous. Oh, yeah," She turned to me and held out her hand with silver tipped nails. "Raven, that's what they call me."

I took one hand off the steering wheel and took her small signal of friendship. "Heather."

"Oh, pretty name." She complemented.

"My daddy gave it to me." I sighed, waiting for the green light fairies to show up and use their magic wands to transform the light color. Of course, fate hated me that day, as we had to sit for more than five minutes waiting for it to turn green.

So, whilst waiting, we turned on the Magical Machine of Entertainment (AKA, the radio)."Glow" by Britt Nicole was playing.

Raven shout-sang at the top of her lungs. "ILLUMINATING LIGHTS UNDER MY SKIN..."

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_**LINE BREAK||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||**_

"OHEMGEE! HEATHER YOU`RE ALIVEEEEEEE!" Morgan squealed as she threw her arms around me.

"Hey- Mor-Mo-" I choked and wheezed as I tried to inhale. "... Cannnn..."

Morgan resumed her BFF strangling technique. "What is it, bestie? I missed you! Lartin was looking everywhere for you and texting you like crazy-"

"Hi, I discovered her. And the fact she was still breathing." Raven rolled her eyes.

Morgan, to my relief, released me. "Who are you?"

"Don't thank me or anything." Raven snorted, suddenly from the happy girl I knew to a tiger. She even bared her teeth and growled, I could swear that. It was scary looking, but despite that, I chuckled.

"Morgan, this is Raven. Raven gave me coffee this morning." I pointed at the new friend that had tagged along.

Morgan nodded and said nothing more to her and turned to me instead. "Heather! What happened? When did you become thirty years older?"

"Couldn't sleep." Was all I risked. If I said anything more, I was scared, Raven would say why I needed the coffee. But a true friend tells no tales.

_**AT LUNCH THAT DAY**_

I sat in my normal spot, drinking my second cup of coffee that day. Raven and Morgan joined me with a lunch try for each of them and one for me.

"No, guys, 'm not hungry." I rubbed my eyes.

"Well, you gotta eat _something_. Here, why not some-" Morgan was broken off by Raven.

"If she doesn't want to eat, she doesn't have to." Raven glowered.

Morgan started an insult to throw, possibly surprised that 'Goths' ate at all, but who interrupted, except for...

Lartin. "Hey, Heather. Where have you been?" His British accent seemed to hypnotize Morgan, but Raven looked as unfazed as I felt.

I gave a weak and fake smile. "Hi Lartin. Business."

"Oh, good. See you after school?"

"No, not today, I need to get home and earn some sleep." I yawned.

"Well, a girl has to get her sleep." He smiled again, almost blinding me with the teeth he must've bleached.

He walked away, still good looking.

The three of us sat for a moment until Raven said, "That was Lartin? He acts like some sort of zombie."

"Are you kidding?!" Morgan squawked. "He's so dang sexy!"

As the two were arguing, I found that though I didn't fully agree, I was more on Raven's side than Morgan's.

I slurped my coffee loudly to try and get them to shut up. It must've worked, because they shut up.

Finally, after about a full minute, Morgan sighed and pressed a hand to her head. "Alright. Heather, what's eating you?"

I started to speak, then shut my mouth, then opened it, then closed it again.

"Guys," I finally croaked.

Morgan's jaw extended at least six feet and touched the floor. (Not really.)

_**NORTH POLE. Bunny's POV**_

_**/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\**_

"Well?" I paced the floor as Phil and two other yetis were playing with a silvery green potion.

"Merglumherrrmonherph," Yaloo, one of the yetis, muttered.

"Make sure no one knows." I said. "Not even North."

The yetis agreed promptly, and handed me the liquid.

"Am I supposed to drink this?" I acknowledged the potion with a nod. The yetis stared at me.

"M'Kay, stupid question."

I held up the potion. "Here's to you, Heather." I muttered and put the vial to my lips.

I drank it down.

_**BURGESSES COLLEGE, ART ROOM. **_

"Well," the girl named Iris Penbird pondered upon my situation. "The way I see it, he was just protective of you."

Morgan sighed romantically and threw a hand to her heart. "How romantic."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, 'cept the dreams could kill me."

Iris' cat, Lil` Lilly allowed a _mreeeower_ of help and settled into her owner's hood of her jacket.

I groaned and held my head. _Stupid dreams..._

"I need to go home. It is the end of the day, after all." I stood up, thanked Iris, Morgan, and Raven, then I left.

On the way home, though, I grabbed a fourth cup of coffee.

_**NORTH POLE. LATER THAT NIGHT.**_

_**BUNNY'S POV**_

I rolled in my bed. _Why in the bloody heck is it so hot and itchy...?_

I kicked off my covers and sat up before realizing I was... Almost full human. And soon I would need...

_I need some pants._

Wrapping my blanket around me like a skirt or something, I stood up and walked into the workshop. Tufts of bluey-silvery fur and hair fell to the ground, leaving an almost luminescent trail of my own fur. Kinda shocking for me.

"Phil!" I hissed. When he didn't respond, I whispered louder. "_Phil!_"

The yeti emerged and mumbled something before his jaw dropped as far as the other side of the world.

"Yeah, I'm human. Shut up and get me some britches!" I growled.

Phil ran into the workshop for less than three minutes and then tossed me a pair of pants.

"Thanks," I muttered and ran upstairs, crawled back into bed and fell asleep.

_**FIVE HOURS LATER.**_

I awoke to North, Jack, and Sandy standing there, looking surprised and wide eyed.

"What?" I said groggily, yanking my covers higher. I was covered in my sleep, but felt entirely awkward in front of there guys.

Jack placed a hand on his chin thoughtfully and regained his impish smirk. "You need some pants, Cottontail...?"

I turned pink. "Uh."

I grabbed the pair beside my bed I had acquired from Phil and started out, but stopped and glared at everyone else. "Ever need some privacy?"

Everyone walked out and I, still covered with my blanket, walked into the bathroom. "Yeah."

I walked in slammed the door, and pulled on my pants.

After taking one look in the mirror, I examined my face.

I had a full head of hair. Still gray-blue-silver, but that was only a mere hue of the black clump of fur atop of my head. no rabbit ears, just human ears that lined up with my eyes and mouth. My eyes were still green, the emerald green I was used to and my nose...

I traced a finger along the shape of my own nose. It felt so... different. A human nose. It was pointer than my Pooka one, but I could tell the similarities.

My tattoos. I turned to investigate when I noticed-

I was very muscular. "Sexy", as I heard people say in movies or typical conversations.

I finally finished with brushing my chompers, then turned and walked out the door, pants and all.

I whisked through the shelves of clothes until I found a muscle shirt- pale green in color, and grabbed a pouch for my boomerangs.

I stood up and looked at the workshop door.

I had someone to see, and an apology to make.

_**Yeah, Bunny is sexy! Will Heather forgive him? What happens next? Will Brownie get a cheese burger?**_

_**Follow, Favorite, and Comment! I'm open to ideas and OCs and complaints and suggestions!**_

_**I love hearing from you! Here's the human Bunny I was inspired by, there were lots of good ones (But too many JackRabbit ones. Euch.).**_

_***Edit* THAT LINK DIDN`T WORK- COPY AND PASTE IT INTO A WEB BAR ADRESS OR URL OR WHATEVER YOU CALL IT!**_

** . /ad9b7229bfb8eea1cf3b1b0c28a187e4/tumblr_mmc4ndjpT t1s0kh4mo1_ **

**That should work!**


	26. Defender link apology

_**So, Yeah… My last chapter… Sorry about the link.**_

_**So, try my blog.**_

_**Copy/paste this one too.**_

_** . **_

_**If that won`t work, PM me or review. Share the story with friends, and send in suggestions!**_

_**Love ya!**_

_** `TT2**_


	27. Eleven Words

_**This is short, but I`m trying to express emotion in a few words.**_

I went home.

I sat on my bed.

And…

I cried.


	28. Dark and Sinister

_**Sorry about the wait!**_

_**I will try to fit in all of these OCs, but it`s hard... I SHALL DO IT!**_

_**(Dramatic Music, fire, battle cries)**_

_**Now, to our (not) regularly hosted show.**_

_UH... Third person._

To be with the Guardians, if not one of them, is a mere honor. As it was for Stargazer and her twin sister, Shooting Star.

Stargazer`s real name was actually Nova Starlight, and Shooting Star was, um... well, thing is, she didn`t have one.

As the pair blazed across the sky Stargazer`s bronze and red hair following her, and Shooting Star`s long blonde hair lingering for a moment, leaving the tail that children see when they look out the window.

Below, several dark figures launched into the planned darkness, holding sinister containers and found their way to the house of Heather, Heather O`Shona.

The Irish girl with chestnut hair was totally unaware of what was going to happen, for she was asleep, unknowing of the horrid treachery ahead of her.

The dark, night-cloaked figures pulled out a key, the one that would open the front door of Heather`s house.

They crept into the room where the teenage girl slept, and...

_**MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA**_

_**I am so EEEEEEVILLLLL!**_

_**What will happen next? (NO IMPROPER comments, orYOU SHALL BE DISHONORED! LIKE ZUKO!)**_

_**Revieeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwww!**_


	29. Elsewhile, with everyone

_**MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHA I KEPT YOU WAITING! HAHAHAHAHA I AM SO EEEEVIL...**_

_**Next chapter:**_

_Still third person..._

"Boo."

"GYAAAAAAAAAA!" Heather sat up, yanking her blankets with her. She took a good look at the intruders, armed with...

Chic flicks.

_Heather`s POV_

"Morgan!" I snarled at the ringleader of the gang. "What are ya doin` here?"

Morgan looked at Raven and Iris, who were standing next to her. (Wow, Morgan was willingly working with Raven?)

Lil Lilly popped out of Iris` hood. "_Meow_."

I rolled my eyes. "Her too?"

"Yes." all three answered.

"...Uuuuuuuuugggggggghhhhhhhh..." Was my response.

"And guess whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat...?" The girls sang and held up a variety of girly movies. "Moooooooviiiiiieeeees..."

"_Meow._" Lil` Lilly held up a Barbie movie in her mouth.

I took one look at _Titanic _and just about died on the spot.

_North Pole. Marcus` POV_

"Papa, where is Bunny?" I called as I wondered from room to room, searching for our Pooka friend.

Papa took one look around and shrugged his beefy shoulders. "_Nyet, _my son, I do not know. He was human this morning-" (This received a wide- eye glance from Tooth) "And Bunny said he was going to..." Papa paused for a second. "Hmmm." He stroked his beard for a second. "I lost him there."

I sighed and looked at Tooth, who looked at me with her purple eyes and noticed I was looking at her, looked down, turning the loveliest shade of pink. her minifaries all giggled. One even squealed and fanned herself."

I grinned. I had loved her ever since I was a little boy in Standoff Claussen, when I was only seven. I had awoken to a soft medley being played in my ear. I have a mind filled with more music than anything else, and did then... until I sat up and saw a beautiful warrior fairy that was bemused to see a child awake.

I fell in love.

And, I knew from the very moment she saw me during my sixth year at Hogwarts, she loved me too.

I snapped myself out when Slenderman and Sandman both ran in, trying to speak and tell us what was going on.

"_Da_?" Papa arched a brow to notify he couldn`t clearly understand them...

Well, this would take a while.

_Annnnd... Back to Heather`s POV_

When Raven put in _Jane Eyre_, I put my head down and died from the (okay, so you know how in the morning, you go all crazy and everything`s the opposite as it should be? Well, yeah.) doom and destruction this movie was causing my head.

However, the others were taking it quite well.

"BWAHAHA THAT ONE PERSON JUST GOT ROASTED TO DEATH!" Raven laughed, and for a minute, I seriously was regretting giving Morgan a spare key.

On account of how easily my friends can get high on Ice Cream, sugar, coffee (No surprise there), candy and strawberries.

I decided, during _Pride and Predujuice_, to just go watch Barbie with Lil` Lilly in my bedroom. It was better than camping out with these crazies.

_Bunny`s POV_

I was tired. and had no where to sleep. So much for finding Heather.

I sat down under a tree and fell asleep under the stars.

_Pitch`s POV_

"Well, brother." I chided as we watched the tired now- humane Pooka lay under a tree.

Plague is my brother. He is responsible for the Black Plague (Ironically, his name backwards), Spanish Influenza, Mad Cow disease, and everything else on that list.

Plague smiled, his pointed and white teeth allowing a grin. "What, brother?"

"Shall we get the Pooka while it is weak?" I gestured to Aster with my long fingers.

Plague shook his head. "No,"

I blinked, but he wasn`t done.

"We shall get the Defender first, then we will defeat E. Aster Bunnymund."

_**[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][] []**_

_**I love you all! Review, send this story to you friends and Family, get them to review... and if you have suggestions, tell me! If you have an OC, tell me! Don`t be shy... And Jack is single.**_

_**I`m gonna be at Church camp next week, so no updates then. :( But, I`ll update ASAP When I get back!**_

_**()()()()()()()()()()**_

_**Also, I have a friend on another writing website, She`s spectacular!**_

_**1) Go to **_

_**2) Select "Read"**_

_**3) In the search, type in Un-Typical Summer. It should be written by chicababy101.**_

_**And, look mine up sometime! I`m not just a fan fiction writer, but an Author/Artist that's planning a Graphic Novel. If I ever do finish it, and if it ever does get published, I`ll let you guys know first!**_

_**Love you!**_

_**Review Review Review Reviewwwwwwwwww**_


	30. The Return Troubles Us

_**Guys, I`m back! Happy Independence Day to all Americans, happy... other day to all those other guys...**_

_**Welllllll... REAAAAAD! (Short Chapter, but I`m in despair... :(**_

_Third Person's POV_

Lartin. He seemed too easy.

But that wasn`t their main focus, oh no.

It was her...

The Defender.

_IN THE PAST..._

_Joan stood at the stake, hands bound, no hope._

_She allowed a small smile to escape herself, despite the men piling hay around her stiffened body._

_North was always like the father she had never known._

_Sandman? His smile could make anyone grin for the rest of the day._

_Jack? Sweet, playful Jack... She would never laugh with him again._

_And Bunnymund...?_

_She wasn`t sure._

_**The smoke fanned up. the flames arose.**_

_All she knew..._

_**Fire licked at her hands and face.**_

_Was that.._

_**"Father! Father!" She cried to Heaven, her eternal sanctuary.**_

_She would..._

_**With her dying breath...**_

_Return._

_**Her chin collapsed to her chest.**_

_"Father..."_

_Pitch`s POV_

That memory my brother and I watched from a distance didn`t trouble us...

But it was her return that made us heave an air of helplessness.

The resurrection and power of Saint Joanne `de Arc was a good things to those blasted Guardians, but they wouldn't be happy for long.

Joan died once, and she will die again.

_**Thank you for reading that short chapter, but I gotta date with a sketchbook. that I need to finish the designs of my main character in the Graphic Novel I may never publish or anything.**_


	31. LOLCatz and a hole

_**GYAH WHY MUST WHENEVER I GET A DECENT IDEA THE INSPERATION BUG BITES MEEEEE?! GYAHHH**_

_**ANYWAYS, NEXT CHAPTER- ENJOY.**_

_Morgan`s POV_

Remind me to never get practically drunk on sugar again.

When I woke up in Heather`s Living room, it was like a hangover.

I sat up, only to fall over.

_Lil` Lilly`s POV_

Meow. Meow mreow meeeeeeoooowow merow mewow.

_Translation: Y Halo Thar, Thar._

_English translation: Why, hello there._

Mrrrrrreeeow... rrrawr.

_Translation: I remember wakin up an seein seksy guy._

_English: I remember waking up and seeing a sexy guy._

Meow, mreeeeowr, mow.

_Translation: I woked up Heathr._

_English: I woke up Heather._

... Meow.

_Translation: She fell downed hole._

_English: ... She fell down a hole._

_Heather`s POV_

_OH GOSH I`M FALLING... Happy thoughts... Happy thoughts... GYAHHHHH FALLING CURSE GRAVITY CURSE IT _

_OKAY... Happy... thoooought... Okay, um, Morgan, Iris... baby kittens... baby bunnies... BUNNY? WHY DID HE GET ANGRY AT ME? AHHHHHHHHHH I`GONNA DIE! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooo..._

To y suprise, two strong arms caught me. "I hope ya can forgive me."

My eyes widened. Could it be...?

_**GYAH ART GREAT EXPATAIONS DIEEEEEEE CHARLES DICKENS BORING WRITING I MEAN HE WAS COOL BUT IT`S BORING WHICH IS WHY I WAITED SOOOOO ENJOY READ RESPOND REVIEW REPLY BLAH BLAH BLAH IT ENCOURAGES ME TO STOP WAITING LAST MOMENT AND ACUTALLY DO A LOOOOOONG CHAPTER LOVE YOU BYEEEEEEEEEEEEE**_


	32. Some pills are hard to swallow

_**So, I know you all hate me for the last chapter, but I will make this one nice and long for you. :3 Yes, I hate myself for all these shorties, too... But, ya have to admit, that LOL Catz was cute in the last chapter.**_

_**Well, RESUME, STORY!**_

_Heather`s POV_

"B-bunny!" I stammered, jumping up from the guy's arms.

He did look good, almost sexy...

Okay, sexy. There, I said it . Happy?

_**Me: (Yes. Yes I am.)**_

"Okay, so... I am wondering how you found out where I live- oh, right," I pondered as Bunny stared at me with an expression that clearly stated, 'Who is the genius in your head?'

I gave a kind of feeble smile. "Easter Bunny."

Bunny nodded. "Yeah, of course, sheila..."

I couldn`t help but sigh. "So, what is it now? Ya come to tell me how much needed I am?"

"Heather, I-"

"Please Don`t 'Now Heather' me, Aster." Even I was surprised with how cool and calm my tone sounded. I don`t even know where the 'Aster' came from, it sorta... fell out.

Even Bunnymund looked surprised, and even though he was a human, I never thought I`d see that...

"Heather," Bunny looked down, his still emerald eyes shining with- were those tears? "I am so sorry... I understand I hurt you, and all I was trying to do was-"

I almost sighed in disdain of this sight. Honestly, him thinking to beg me to come back would work?

_What the heck... I feel... um..._

Now, I`ve never been drunk or had a drop of alchlohol in my life (Despite being Irish, that's a stereotype) but I would guess that it`s similar to feeling "Tipsy".

I interrupted. "Protect me, Bunny? Well, you could`ve asked politely instead of making me feel worthless around you guys. The Guardians..." I paused, trying to consider this thought. "For a minute there... you guys seemed like my actual family. I could`ve lived in the Warren forever. But..." I turned, looking for a way out of the hole. "Right now, I have sugar- high friends at my house that are practically gonna have a hangover in a few minutes."

I started to climb. but with one solid thump from Bunny`s foot, I lost grip on the soft dirt cavern and collapsed on my bottom, back at the floor.

I stood up, ignoring Bunny`s outstretched palm of aid. "Don`t do that."

"Don`t be so icy and haughty." Bunny retorted. "Now shut up and forgive me."

"Shut up and apologize."

"For what?"

"Making me land on my butt like that." I snorted.

He stomped again, making me fall back and land the exact same way as before. "First, accept my apology of making you feel like crap, then I`ll apologize for your rump, and then I`ll getcha outta this hole." The humanized Pooka smirked and leaned down eye level to me, sitting on his heels.

"Okay, sheesh." I sighed, knowing where this was going. Still not standing up, I inhaled. "Apology accepted on both terms. Now, get me out of this mud pit."

Bunny grabbed my arm, stood me up, picked me up, and, with the agility of a rabbit (Which he was), bounded out of the snare he had made me fall in.

He set me down on the ground and stood as if expecting me to give him a special invitation into my house. I didn`t.

He started to follow me inside, but I slammed the door in his face, kinda- sorta hoping I had hit him in his nose.

My friends were already gone, they must've drug themselves home.

I flopped down on the couch at One o` clock in the afternoon and slept for I don`t know how long.

_North Pole. Your POV_

Pitch and Plague both grinned at the sight before them. The Guardians, all in the wrong place at the wrong time, place being North Pole, time being now.

All except Sandman and Bunnymund, all the Guardians were in their sickening combination of Night Mares and Virus Bugs.

"What now, brother?" Pitch seemed eager to wipe `em all out, where they were standing.

Jack Frost coughed up some blood, thanks to Plague's dust. "You two are related?" He asked, bug eyed. "That would explain the ugliness..." He was interrupted by a single, hoarse cough. You gasped ever so slightly, hoping your best friend wasn`t hurt too badly. You knew a Guardian couldn`t die forever, at least if he was firmly believed in. Jack Frost wasn`t one of those.

Plague seemed pleased by the hurt and shock on a mortal's face. You knew it, and you hated it.

As you would... forever.

_Sandman`s ship. Third Person._

Dreams. Everywhere, all over the skies and clouds, there were dreams. The dreams of children, dreams of hope, dreams of the past...

But there was something very wrong. Sandman reached out and touched something floating among his dust.

Back sand?

Oh. No. No, no, no, no, no, no! This- this couldn`t be true, it couldn`t be happening.

North... he had to go check. Check and see if... they were all meeting there! Except Bunny. Bunny had left for something shortly before Sandy had gone to go and send out dreams.

He flew down to the city his ship was currently flying over. Burgesses. It was Eight o` clock there, everyone was asleep.

Heather... Where was she?

Her house. He had passed it many a time. She had to be there.

He poked his head into a window, and indeed, she was asleep on the couch.

She would wake up soon. She would need strength and force in order to win the possible fight stirring.

He flew in closer, sprinkled some golden dust on her head and face, and saw her nose twitch. Good. The sand had taken effect.

Sandy floated up to her room, finding a shield on the floor. Joan's shield.

He picked it up and hugged it, remembering his serious daughter figure.

But on occasion she would crack a smile and grin. She would laugh and throw her head back, closing her eyes and try to stop her snorting laugh.

Joan hated her laugh, but the Guardians loved it. In her cell, she was brave, a long as the Guardians were sitting next to her. Especially Bunnymund.

Sandman smiled at Heather flew out, ready to go see Bunnymund and check on the fellow Guardians.

_Warren, not so much later. Bunnymund's POV_

I leaned back against a tree, glaring at my feet. _I hate being a human._

I quietly began to hum from Les Miserables, an opera that I secretly liked.

_On this page, I write my last confession…_

_Read it well… when I at last am sleeping._

I was interrupted by Sandy zooming in, frantically waving his hands around and making signs with his Dream Dust.

Curse that stupid sand… I almost didn`t stay awake, the way he was throwin` that stuff around.

"Sandy, what the heck, ya lost your nelly or… Wait, what?" I blinked, not used to my human nose twitching. "North?" I guessed at his crafted compass.

Oh, crap…This'd take a while…

_Heather`s POV, in her dream_

_I stood up as a warrior. No longer Heather, and not Joan of Arc, but… both, I guess._

_I looked around, seeing the Guardians before they were known. There should've been some sort of loud noise, especially with all the fighting that was going on, but the only sound was the steady rhythm of my heart._

_I spun around, getting a feeling of my weapon, raising it in a war- like fashion, and trying to give out a battle cry, but I still didn`t hear a sound. Everyone else must've, because they all turned around and stared at me, the Guardians seemed pleased and relived, and the enemy appeared distraught._

_My heartbeat rose when I saw Pitch standing at a distance, turning to face me._

_He simply lifted an arrow and threw it at my chest._

_I didn`t move. I wasn`t sure how I knew, but it was a gift of sacrifice. _

_The arrow soared. So did my heart._

_It hit me square in the chest, black dust and blood exploding._

_My heart calmed down as the Guardians ran over, defending themselves as they tried to aid me. _

_I felt myself give a weak smile. My heart was slowing._

_I heard a voice, a sweet, deep and welcome voice chide gently:_

_"This is why you are called the Defender."_

_And then… My heartbeat stopped._

I sat up, alarmed at all rates, then realized the liquid on me was just my own sweat.

Okay, gross.

I stood up and almost fell on my face, tripping on something. I looked back to curse the inanimate object when I noticed what it was. The shield.

Pushing myself up, I went to my room, muttering how roman soldiers even existed with those things around.

I stood in front of my mirror, yanking off my shirt. As I grabbed another shirt for my pajamas, I noticed something on my skin, covered by my sports bra.

Not totally taking it off, I saw a horrifying detail-

A big, ghastly scar…

Right where the arrow had hit its target.

_**What happens now? Was the dream real? Will bunny guess what Sandy is saying? Will the Blacks be stopped?**_

_**Hope you enjoyed that chapter, sorry it wasn`t as long as I hoed… But I`ll make it up soon!**_

_**Review, share, like, love, comment, favorite, follow… I encourages me!**_


	33. I am your Guardian

_**So… my little brother has seized the computer, which is why I haven't been updating. plus, go thank band camp for keeping me away from this. I`m sorry, I beg forgiveness, and I will update as frequently as possible.**_

_**So, I will, from now on, try to make my chapters at least 1000 words. **_

_Bunny`s POV_

"Okay…" I furrowed my brow and studied Sandy, who seemed to be telling me something. "You`re… bloated. You want a potato. North has fabulous hair. Brownie took my sandwich…?"

Each guess got a firm and dismissive "No." Which was surprising, because I had my money on the potato thing.

"Well, ya big gumby…" I threw my still mostly human fur-covered arms in the air. "What in bloody hey is it?"

Sandy sighed.

Using the dreamsand, he created and image of the North Pole.

"North Pole…" I interpreted.

An image of the other Guardians…

"The rest of us?" I guessed again. (Correctly, might I add.)

And then-

"Pitch Black."

Sandy nodded.

_Oh, bloody heck no._

_Heather`s POV_

I sat there like an idiot, still staring at the scar carved into my chest.

_Mother of everything… How did it get there…?_

I wandered into the kitchen, looking for a clock when I remembered I had a watch on.

_(Dum-dee dum-dum.)_

I glanced at my wrist. Four oh seven in the morning.

Well, aren`t I the insane one. Here I am, thinking I`m an old five hundred year old saint that was burned to death because she wore pants.

Sighing, I moved from the kitchen into the living room, where I picked up the shield. Sitting down on my couch, I gripped the heavy artifact in my hands and stared at it. Brushing my hair out of my eyes, I let out a breath of air. "Okay." I stared it down, looking at the elaborate design on it. "Help me." I squeezed my grip on it and closed my eyes tight, shaking from the effort of somehow trying to connect my brainwaves with the shield.

_Come on, come on, come ooooonnnnnnnnnn…_

Nothing happened.

I blew out a breath of air. "That didn`t work. Obviously."

I stood up and walked into the kitchen once more, trying to make some coffee in the darkness.

Well, you know how when you get up in the night and you step on a Lego with your bare feet and you bawl and cry in pain due to the blasted plastic toy?

This was like that.

…. Well, not to that extent.

I tripped over a sword.

Yes, ye heard me right.

A _sword._ On the floor. In my _kitchen_.

_How in the name of John Paul Jones did that get here?_

Picking it up and setting it down onto the table, I turned on the light and examined it.

At a closer detail, it didn`t look old at all, actually brand new. A broadsword.

Yep. Still didn`t help the question about how it got into my house.

_**Your POV (If you are in love with him:):D**_

You blinked through the black- green dust, reaching the weakening Jack. "Jack…" You say, offering an arm around his shoulders.

He looked up at your face, studying your (Eye color) eyes. "(Your Name)…." He coughed.

"Don`t worry, Jack." You whisper into his slightly pointed ear so the Blacks wouldn`t hear. "I`ll getcha outta here. You`re gonna be okay," You assured him. You grimaced at the blood trickling down the side of his cheek from his lips. "Just fine."

You were talking to yourself more than you were talking to him. You really liked him, you did. And you would've never forgiven yourself if anything happened to him.

You set his head on your lap after moving out of the green musty storm, as far as you could get. You stare down at his silent face, and under his eyelids, you knew, there would always be those blue eyes you fell for.

You glanced over at North, who was coughing harshly but still looking firm and stubborn. Tooth ushered her minifaries behind her before collapsing in pain and fright. Marcus ran to her aid. Slenderman was standing silently, head bowed.

Your eyes were torn from the scene when a cool and gentle hand touched your face. You looked down at Jack's face, his eyes now slightly open. He allows traces of his impish grin to widen, attempting to reassure you. He shakily brushed a strand of (Hair color) hair out of your eyes. Then he placed that same right hand on your cheek and strokes it. "We`re gonna be fine. You`ll see, (Name). Then you and I will be able to play pranks on the yetis…" He coughed. "Like how when you and I dyed the shampoo so the yetis were all green. Remember that?"

You smiled at the memory. "Do I ever. They were chasing us like crazy."

Jack saw you smile and returned the gesture. "They were green and brown and splattered with red paint, and you said it looked like-"

"The Brown Bear Apocalypse." You finished as he did. You both chuckle, but it was broken off shortly due to Jack`s coughing.

You looked down, avoiding eye contact with the winter spirit. "You`re not okay." Was all you could manage before tears ran down your cheeks.

Jack, regaining all seriousness, placed his hand under your chin. "Look at me, (Name). Look at me."

You looked at him, trying to say what you had always tried to say forever.

He leaned up and pressed his cold lips to your nose, then falling back into your lap due to effort. He stared straight into your eyes and said possibly the best thing anyone would ever say to you:

"I am your Guardian."

_**Your POV If he`s just a friend)**_

You helped up your best friend, who had always been there for you. "C'mon, pal, a little cold can`t stop you." You joked, trying to shed some light on the situation for everyone`s sakes.

Jack took your outstretched hand, trying to grin. "I`ve always been prone to the sniffles," He coughed.

You pick him up and drape an arm around him, picking up his weight. "Let`s get you outta here," You sunk under how weak you were. _And I complained about vaccinations when I was little…_ You now vow you will never complain about going for a check- up again.

"There`s no way out," The all too practical voice of Pitch commented. "Especially you, human." Pitch pointed at you, smiling like a freaking crazy guy.

You glare at him, staggering to keep Jack up. "You`re INSANE," You set emphasis on the last word to describe what you think of him. What you really wanted to do was slap him, but you were scared to leave your best friend on the ground.

Jack exhaled and glared at Pitch, putting as much strength into his glare as possible. "Can`t believe I`m saying this, but…" He raised his voice from a whisper to where Pitch could hear. "When Bunny comes, he will kick your butt."

"And Sandy," You whispered into Jack`s ear.

"Yeah!" He finished with an overly confident grin. "And Sandy!"

His bet was cut short by a fit of coughing and nearly falling over, and thus made you trip over your own feet.

You couldn`t loose faith in the Guardians. Now wasn`t the time.

_**Third Person**_

The two shooting star Guardians, (That I introduced earlier) Saw what was going on.

Nova Starlight exchanged glances with her sister. Shooting Star nodded, and they set off to get the person that was need to finish the job.

_**I did it! 1,373 words! Yeah! Sorry about the spacey updates, but please be patient with me…**_

_**They wasn`t kiss so soon, Nekolover3 (guest), but soon for me means before a battle. and that would be a bad time for them to kiss. So, maybe after the battle. ;D **_

_**I told you these two OCs would be important, SpockandKirkarePERF, I TOTALLY CALLED IT! **____** :]**_

_**I know most of you female readers read the Lovers POV… Don`t lie. I know you did.**_

_**REVIEW READ RESPOND SHARE LOVE YOU REVIEW**_

… _**I`m not pressuring you to review, it just encourages me.**_

_**REVIEW SHARE LIKE LOVE FAVORITE FOLLOW**_


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